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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: lash · straw · present · rule · stock · chair · temple · row

  1. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  2. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  3. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  4. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  5. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  6. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  7. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  8. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  9. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  10. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  11. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  12. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  13. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  14. When was this ________________ built?
  15. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  16. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  17. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  18. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  19. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  20. The ________________ market has crashed.
  21. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  22. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  23. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  24. The spa offers ________________ extensions.

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

Answer key

  1. temple — a place of worship
  2. row — a quarrel
  3. chair — a leader
  4. present — the time now
  5. temple — side of the head
  6. chair — a professorship
  7. stock — a soup base
  8. present — there
  9. stock — goods
  10. present — a gift
  11. chair — to sit on
  12. rule — a law
  13. lash — to lash out
  14. temple — a place of worship
  15. straw — to clutch at straws
  16. rule — to rule out
  17. row — to paddle
  18. row — a line
  19. lash — a whip stroke
  20. stock — shares
  21. straw — a straw man
  22. straw — dry grass
  23. rule — government
  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