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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 120 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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468
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: chest · rash · racket · wake · chair · scale · last · stem

  1. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  2. Don't do anything ________________.
  3. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  4. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  5. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  6. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  7. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  8. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  9. False peace will not ________________.
  10. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  11. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  12. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  13. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  14. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  15. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  16. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  17. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  18. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  19. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  20. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  21. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  22. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  23. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  24. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.

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

Answer key

  1. last — final
  2. rash — hasty
  3. rash — on the skin
  4. wake — a trail
  5. last — finally
  6. scale — size or range
  7. racket — a loud noise
  8. chair — to sit on
  9. last — to go on
  10. stem — to come from
  11. wake — to stop sleeping
  12. racket — for tennis
  13. chair — a leader
  14. racket — for tennis
  15. chest — of your body
  16. chair — a professorship
  17. stem — a stem cell
  18. scale — in music
  19. chest — of your body
  20. chest — a box
  21. wake — before a funeral
  22. scale — for weighing
  23. stem — of a plant
  24. rash — a series

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