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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: lash · chair · content · tear · pit · rest

  1. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  2. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  3. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  4. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  5. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  6. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  7. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  8. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  9. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  10. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  11. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  12. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  13. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  14. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  15. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  16. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  17. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  18. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. chair — a professorship
  3. rest — what's left
  4. rest — a break
  5. chair — a leader
  6. tear — to rip
  7. lash — a whip stroke
  8. tear — from crying
  9. rest — what's left
  10. lash — to lash out
  11. pit — a fruit stone
  12. content — happy
  13. chair — to sit on
  14. pit — a hole
  15. content — the amount
  16. lash — an eyelash
  17. pit — in a race
  18. content — videos and posts

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