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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: chair · object · cue · foot · pitcher · wound · dip · wind

  1. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  2. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  3. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  4. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  5. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  6. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  7. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  8. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  9. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  10. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  11. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  12. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  13. He is an ace ________________.
  14. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  15. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  16. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  17. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  18. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  19. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  20. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  21. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  22. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  23. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  24. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — an injury
  2. object — to protest
  3. chair — a leader
  4. chair — to sit on
  5. wound — an injury
  6. wind — moving air
  7. cue — a signal
  8. dip — to sink
  9. chair — a professorship
  10. pitcher — a jug
  11. wound — past of 'wind'
  12. dip — a sauce
  13. pitcher — in baseball
  14. pitcher — a jug
  15. foot — the bottom
  16. object — an aim
  17. foot — a measure
  18. cue — a hint
  19. foot — part of the body
  20. wind — to turn a key
  21. object — a thing
  22. wind — moving air
  23. cue — for pool
  24. dip — to dunk

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