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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: cell · chair · suit · lash · nail · bowl

  1. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  2. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  3. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  4. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  5. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  6. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  7. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  8. When will it ________________ you to start?
  9. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  10. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  11. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  12. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  13. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  14. He was locked up in a ________________.
  15. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  16. The ________________ went through the wall.
  17. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  18. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — to roll
  2. nail — for a hammer
  3. cell — a phone
  4. lash — to lash out
  5. bowl — a football final
  6. chair — a professorship
  7. chair — a leader
  8. suit — to fit
  9. bowl — a dish
  10. suit — in cards
  11. suit — clothes
  12. lash — a whip stroke
  13. nail — on a finger
  14. cell — in a prison
  15. chair — to sit on
  16. nail — for a hammer
  17. lash — an eyelash
  18. cell — in biology

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