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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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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: chair · staff · lash · bay · pit · wind

  1. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  2. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  3. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  4. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  5. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  6. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  7. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  8. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  9. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  10. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  11. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  12. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  13. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  14. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  15. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  16. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  17. My mare is ________________ in color.
  18. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — to turn a key
  2. staff — employees
  3. pit — in a race
  4. pit — a fruit stone
  5. lash — a whip stroke
  6. bay — to keep at bay
  7. bay — a part of the sea
  8. chair — to sit on
  9. chair — a professorship
  10. lash — to lash out
  11. staff — a stick
  12. wind — moving air
  13. pit — a hole
  14. chair — a leader
  15. lash — an eyelash
  16. wind — moving air
  17. bay — a horse colour
  18. staff — employees

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