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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 116 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.

Words on the sheet
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: rash · land · wake · saw · chair · spring · cell · rock

  1. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  2. He works in a ________________ mill.
  3. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  4. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  5. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  6. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  7. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  8. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  9. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  10. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  11. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  12. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  13. When are we going to ________________?
  14. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  15. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  16. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  17. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  18. Don't do anything ________________.
  19. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  20. She's very handy with a ________________.
  21. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  22. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  23. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  24. He was locked up in a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — to sit on
  2. saw — the tool
  3. chair — a leader
  4. rock — to move gently
  5. saw — past of 'see'
  6. spring — the season
  7. cell — in biology
  8. rock — music
  9. wake — to stop sleeping
  10. rock — a stone
  11. wake — before a funeral
  12. wake — a trail
  13. land — to come down
  14. spring — of water
  15. rash — on the skin
  16. land — ground
  17. rash — a series
  18. rash — hasty
  19. spring — a coil
  20. saw — the tool
  21. chair — a professorship
  22. cell — a phone
  23. land — a country
  24. cell — in a prison

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