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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 124 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: bound · bat · pass · wind · chair · mate · rush · swing

  1. David sat on the ________________.
  2. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  3. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  4. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  5. That was ________________ to happen.
  6. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  7. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  8. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  9. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  10. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  11. That must've been a ________________.
  12. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  13. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  14. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  15. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  16. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  17. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  18. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  19. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  20. Have you found your soul ________________?
  21. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  22. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  23. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  24. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?

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

Answer key

  1. swing — to play on
  2. chair — a professorship
  3. bound — obliged
  4. mate — to breed
  5. bound — certain
  6. rush — to hurry
  7. pass — to succeed
  8. bound — tied together
  9. wind — to turn a key
  10. wind — moving air
  11. rush — a thrill
  12. pass — to spend time
  13. bat — for baseball
  14. bat — in an idiom
  15. pass — a permit
  16. rush — hurry
  17. wind — moving air
  18. chair — to sit on
  19. swing — music
  20. mate — a partner
  21. bat — the animal
  22. chair — a leader
  23. swing — in golf
  24. mate — a friend

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