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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: wound · rush · chair · race · staff · rest · tear · lash

  1. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  2. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  3. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  4. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  5. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  6. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  7. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  8. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  9. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  10. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  11. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  12. That must've been a ________________.
  13. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  14. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  15. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  16. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  17. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  18. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  19. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  20. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  21. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  22. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  23. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  24. The spa offers ________________ extensions.

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

Answer key

  1. staff — employees
  2. staff — a stick
  3. lash — a whip stroke
  4. rest — what's left
  5. wound — an injury
  6. chair — to sit on
  7. tear — from crying
  8. rush — to hurry
  9. race — a contest
  10. staff — employees
  11. wound — past of 'wind'
  12. rush — a thrill
  13. chair — a leader
  14. tear — to rip
  15. race — humankind
  16. rest — what's left
  17. rest — a break
  18. race — the arms race
  19. lash — to lash out
  20. chair — a professorship
  21. tear — from crying
  22. rush — hurry
  23. wound — an injury
  24. lash — an eyelash

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