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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: dip · lash · wake · rush · spring · chair · hand · cap

  1. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  2. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  3. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  4. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  5. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  6. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  7. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  8. That must've been a ________________.
  9. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  10. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  11. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  12. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  13. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  14. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  15. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  16. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  17. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  18. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  19. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  20. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  21. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  22. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  23. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  24. I got dealt a bad ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wake — before a funeral
  2. cap — a lid
  3. chair — a professorship
  4. cap — of ice
  5. hand — help
  6. dip — to dunk
  7. rush — hurry
  8. rush — a thrill
  9. lash — an eyelash
  10. dip — a sauce
  11. chair — to sit on
  12. chair — a leader
  13. lash — to lash out
  14. rush — to hurry
  15. spring — of water
  16. cap — a hat
  17. spring — the season
  18. lash — a whip stroke
  19. dip — to sink
  20. hand — part of the body
  21. spring — a coil
  22. wake — a trail
  23. wake — to stop sleeping
  24. hand — in cards

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