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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. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  2. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  3. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  4. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  5. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  6. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  7. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  8. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  9. That must've been a ________________.
  10. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  11. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  12. Have you met the new head ________________?
  13. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  14. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  15. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  16. This piece is in a major ________________.
  17. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  18. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  19. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  20. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  21. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  22. Don't do anything ________________.
  23. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  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 — to hurry
  2. kid — to tease
  3. rest — a break
  4. rest — what's left
  5. chair — a professorship
  6. key — the most important part
  7. rash — a series
  8. rest — what's left
  9. rush — a thrill
  10. key — for a lock
  11. coach — a trainer
  12. coach — a trainer
  13. chair — a leader
  14. kid — child
  15. chest — of your body
  16. key — in music
  17. coach — pulled by horses
  18. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  19. chest — a box
  20. rush — hurry
  21. chest — of your body
  22. rash — hasty
  23. rash — on the skin
  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