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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: stick · chair · file · cell · band · lash

  1. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  2. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  3. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  4. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  5. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  6. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  7. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  8. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  9. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  10. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  11. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  12. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  13. He was locked up in a ________________.
  14. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  15. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  16. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  17. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  18. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a professorship
  2. lash — an eyelash
  3. lash — to lash out
  4. cell — in biology
  5. stick — to attach or keep to
  6. file — a line of people
  7. chair — a leader
  8. band — a music group
  9. file — a document
  10. chair — to sit on
  11. lash — a whip stroke
  12. band — a rubber band
  13. cell — in a prison
  14. file — a tool
  15. stick — a piece of wood
  16. band — a ring
  17. stick — a piece of wood
  18. cell — a phone

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