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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.

Words on the sheet
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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: lean · clip · cell · chair · court · rush · fan · rash

  1. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  2. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  3. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  4. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  5. He was locked up in a ________________.
  6. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  7. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  8. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  9. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  10. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  11. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  12. That must've been a ________________.
  13. The ball is in your ________________.
  14. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  15. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  16. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  17. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  18. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  19. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  20. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  21. Don't do anything ________________.
  22. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  23. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  24. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.

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

Answer key

  1. rush — hurry
  2. cell — a phone
  3. cell — in biology
  4. clip — to cut
  5. cell — in a prison
  6. rash — a series
  7. court — of law
  8. lean — to bend
  9. chair — a professorship
  10. clip — for paper
  11. fan — to cool the air
  12. rush — a thrill
  13. court — for sport
  14. fan — a supporter
  15. clip — a video
  16. rash — on the skin
  17. lean — thin
  18. chair — to sit on
  19. rush — to hurry
  20. lean — to rest against
  21. rash — hasty
  22. chair — a leader
  23. fan — a supporter
  24. court — of a king

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