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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: row · leaves · lash · ground · chair · cell · swing · wake

  1. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  2. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  3. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  4. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  5. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  6. He was locked up in a ________________.
  7. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  8. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  9. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  10. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  11. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  12. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  13. There's no middle ________________.
  14. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  15. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  16. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  17. David sat on the ________________.
  18. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  19. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  20. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  21. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  22. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  23. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  24. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.

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

Answer key

  1. wake — to stop sleeping
  2. row — a quarrel
  3. ground — crushed
  4. leaves — of a tree
  5. row — to paddle
  6. cell — in a prison
  7. chair — a professorship
  8. row — a line
  9. chair — a leader
  10. cell — a phone
  11. swing — in golf
  12. swing — music
  13. ground — a position
  14. lash — an eyelash
  15. chair — to sit on
  16. leaves — to go away
  17. swing — to play on
  18. wake — before a funeral
  19. cell — in biology
  20. lash — a whip stroke
  21. leaves — lets stay
  22. lash — to lash out
  23. wake — a trail
  24. ground — the earth

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