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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: roll · hand · rash · lash · chair · firm · land · mine

  1. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  2. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  3. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  4. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  5. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  6. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  7. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  8. Don't do anything ________________.
  9. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  10. We're on a ________________ here.
  11. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  12. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  13. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  14. When are we going to ________________?
  15. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  16. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  17. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  18. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  19. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  20. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  21. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  22. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  23. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  24. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.

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

Answer key

  1. lash — to lash out
  2. mine — for digging
  3. firm — decided
  4. hand — in cards
  5. chair — to sit on
  6. lash — a whip stroke
  7. firm — steady
  8. rash — hasty
  9. mine — belonging to me
  10. roll — on a roll
  11. hand — help
  12. land — ground
  13. mine — an explosive
  14. land — to come down
  15. hand — part of the body
  16. roll — a cake
  17. rash — a series
  18. rash — on the skin
  19. chair — a professorship
  20. chair — a leader
  21. land — a country
  22. lash — an eyelash
  23. firm — a company
  24. roll — a list

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