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

  1. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  2. How do you ________________ your surname?
  3. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  4. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  5. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  6. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  7. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  8. Don't do anything ________________.
  9. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  10. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  11. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  12. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  13. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  14. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  15. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  16. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  17. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  18. My father caught me by the ________________.
  19. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  20. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  21. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  22. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  23. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  24. I seem to be developing a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. foot — a measure
  2. spell — letters
  3. chair — a professorship
  4. chair — a leader
  5. lash — to lash out
  6. chest — of your body
  7. lash — an eyelash
  8. rash — hasty
  9. lash — a whip stroke
  10. squash — the vegetable
  11. foot — part of the body
  12. chest — of your body
  13. squash — to crush
  14. squash — the sport
  15. spell — a short time
  16. chest — a box
  17. arm — part of the body
  18. arm — part of the body
  19. rash — a series
  20. spell — magic
  21. arm — a part of something
  22. chair — to sit on
  23. foot — the bottom
  24. rash — on the skin

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