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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: bat · stand · lash · cell · chair · firm

  1. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  2. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  3. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  4. He was locked up in a ________________.
  5. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  6. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  7. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  8. I can't ________________ this cold.
  9. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  10. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  11. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  12. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  13. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  14. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  15. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  16. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  17. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  18. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a professorship
  2. firm — steady
  3. bat — for baseball
  4. cell — in a prison
  5. lash — a whip stroke
  6. chair — a leader
  7. lash — to lash out
  8. stand — to bear
  9. firm — decided
  10. cell — a phone
  11. cell — in biology
  12. stand — on your feet
  13. bat — the animal
  14. bat — in an idiom
  15. stand — for spectators
  16. chair — to sit on
  17. lash — an eyelash
  18. firm — a company

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