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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.

Make a worksheet

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

Words on the sheet
468
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: wind · rock · row · nail · chair · hand · sharp · wound

  1. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  2. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  3. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  4. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  5. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  6. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  7. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  8. It's one o'clock ________________.
  9. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  10. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  11. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  12. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  13. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  14. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  15. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  16. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  17. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  18. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  19. The ________________ went through the wall.
  20. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  21. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  22. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  23. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  24. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — to sit on
  2. wind — moving air
  3. hand — in cards
  4. nail — on a finger
  5. row — a quarrel
  6. sharp — clever
  7. wound — an injury
  8. sharp — exactly
  9. row — a line
  10. nail — for a hammer
  11. chair — a professorship
  12. wind — to turn a key
  13. rock — to move gently
  14. wound — past of 'wind'
  15. rock — a stone
  16. row — to paddle
  17. sharp — with an edge
  18. hand — part of the body
  19. nail — for a hammer
  20. wind — moving air
  21. hand — help
  22. rock — music
  23. chair — a leader
  24. wound — an injury

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