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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 116 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: chair · row · rush · face · board · fall · bark · wind

  1. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  2. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  3. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  4. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  5. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  6. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  7. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  8. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  9. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  10. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  11. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  12. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  13. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  14. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  15. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  16. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  17. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  18. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  19. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  20. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  21. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  22. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  23. That must've been a ________________.
  24. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. fall — to drop
  2. fall — to drop
  3. wind — to turn a key
  4. board — a flat piece
  5. chair — to sit on
  6. fall — the season
  7. face — to point toward
  8. board — a committee
  9. face — to confront
  10. bark — to shout
  11. rush — hurry
  12. row — to paddle
  13. chair — a leader
  14. row — a line
  15. chair — a professorship
  16. bark — of a tree
  17. bark — a dog's sound
  18. board — to get on
  19. face — part of the head
  20. row — a quarrel
  21. rush — to hurry
  22. wind — moving air
  23. rush — a thrill
  24. wind — moving air

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com