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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: rush · temple · court · chair · wind · leaves · stick · plane

  1. That must've been a ________________.
  2. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  3. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  4. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  5. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  6. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  7. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  8. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  9. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  10. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  11. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  12. The ________________ took off on time.
  13. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  14. When was this ________________ built?
  15. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  16. The ball is in your ________________.
  17. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  18. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  19. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  20. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  21. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  22. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  23. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  24. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rush — a thrill
  2. rush — hurry
  3. chair — a leader
  4. temple — a place of worship
  5. leaves — to go away
  6. rush — to hurry
  7. stick — a piece of wood
  8. leaves — lets stay
  9. wind — to turn a key
  10. leaves — of a tree
  11. wind — moving air
  12. plane — an aircraft
  13. court — of law
  14. temple — a place of worship
  15. temple — side of the head
  16. court — for sport
  17. stick — a piece of wood
  18. wind — moving air
  19. plane — a tool
  20. chair — a professorship
  21. stick — to attach or keep to
  22. plane — in geometry
  23. court — of a king
  24. chair — to sit on

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