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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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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: hide · pass · chair · roll · capital · wind · chest · swing

  1. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  2. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  3. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  4. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  5. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  6. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  7. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  8. We're on a ________________ here.
  9. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  10. David sat on the ________________.
  11. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  12. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  13. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  14. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  15. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  16. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  17. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  18. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  19. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  20. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  21. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  22. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  23. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  24. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. swing — music
  2. wind — moving air
  3. pass — to spend time
  4. hide — to keep secret
  5. chair — a leader
  6. chair — to sit on
  7. wind — to turn a key
  8. roll — on a roll
  9. capital — money
  10. swing — to play on
  11. capital — a big letter
  12. pass — a permit
  13. wind — moving air
  14. capital — a city
  15. roll — a cake
  16. roll — a list
  17. chest — of your body
  18. chest — a box
  19. pass — to succeed
  20. swing — in golf
  21. hide — to keep secret
  22. hide — animal skin
  23. chest — of your body
  24. chair — a professorship

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