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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.

Make a worksheet

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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Word bank
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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: ball · track · lash · chest · chair · wind

  1. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  2. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  3. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  4. The King held a masked ________________.
  5. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  6. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  7. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  8. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  9. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  10. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  11. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  12. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  13. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  14. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  15. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  16. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  17. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  18. The spa offers ________________ extensions.

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

Answer key

  1. ball — a great time
  2. wind — moving air
  3. track — to keep track
  4. ball — a dance
  5. chair — a professorship
  6. chest — of your body
  7. lash — a whip stroke
  8. chest — a box
  9. chair — a leader
  10. chair — to sit on
  11. track — a song
  12. wind — moving air
  13. lash — to lash out
  14. track — a path
  15. ball — a round shape
  16. chest — of your body
  17. wind — to turn a key
  18. lash — an eyelash

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