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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: race · rest · hand · chair · lie · swing · kid · wax

  1. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  2. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  3. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  4. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  5. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  6. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  7. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  8. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  9. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  10. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  11. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  12. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  13. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  14. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  15. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  16. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  17. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  18. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  19. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  20. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  21. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  22. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  23. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  24. David sat on the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rest — a break
  2. rest — what's left
  3. race — a contest
  4. race — humankind
  5. swing — music
  6. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  7. race — the arms race
  8. lie — to recline
  9. rest — what's left
  10. kid — child
  11. chair — a professorship
  12. wax — for sculpting
  13. swing — in golf
  14. hand — help
  15. chair — a leader
  16. wax — to grow
  17. lie — an untruth
  18. kid — to tease
  19. hand — part of the body
  20. wax — in the ear
  21. lie — an untruth
  22. hand — in cards
  23. chair — to sit on
  24. swing — to play on

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