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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 120 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 in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  2. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  3. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  4. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  5. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  6. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  7. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  8. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  9. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  10. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  11. False peace will not ________________.
  12. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  13. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  14. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  15. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  16. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  17. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  18. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  19. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  20. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  21. When are we going to ________________?
  22. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  23. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  24. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a ring
  2. lash — an eyelash
  3. chair — a professorship
  4. chair — a leader
  5. chair — to sit on
  6. last — finally
  7. safe — a strongbox
  8. straw — dry grass
  9. hand — help
  10. last — final
  11. last — to go on
  12. land — a country
  13. lash — to lash out
  14. lash — a whip stroke
  15. safe — out of danger
  16. straw — a straw man
  17. hand — part of the body
  18. band — a music group
  19. land — ground
  20. band — a rubber band
  21. land — to come down
  22. safe — out of danger
  23. hand — in cards
  24. straw — to clutch at straws

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