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

Word bank: chair · race · board · rest · chest · last

  1. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  2. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  3. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  4. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  5. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  6. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  7. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  8. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  9. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  10. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  11. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  12. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  13. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  14. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  15. False peace will not ________________.
  16. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  17. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  18. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. last — finally
  2. board — a committee
  3. race — a contest
  4. board — a flat piece
  5. chair — to sit on
  6. last — final
  7. chest — of your body
  8. rest — what's left
  9. chest — of your body
  10. board — to get on
  11. race — the arms race
  12. chair — a professorship
  13. chair — a leader
  14. rest — what's left
  15. last — to go on
  16. rest — a break
  17. chest — a box
  18. race — humankind

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