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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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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: rush · chair · lash · chest · straw · row · rest · stick

  1. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  2. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  3. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  4. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  5. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  6. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  7. That must've been a ________________.
  8. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  9. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  10. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  11. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  12. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  13. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  14. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  15. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  16. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  17. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  18. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  19. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  20. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  21. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  22. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  23. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  24. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.

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

Answer key

  1. rest — what's left
  2. chair — a professorship
  3. chair — to sit on
  4. rest — a break
  5. lash — an eyelash
  6. straw — a straw man
  7. rush — a thrill
  8. row — a line
  9. straw — dry grass
  10. stick — to attach or keep to
  11. rush — hurry
  12. chest — of your body
  13. stick — a piece of wood
  14. chest — of your body
  15. straw — to clutch at straws
  16. rush — to hurry
  17. chest — a box
  18. lash — to lash out
  19. row — to paddle
  20. row — a quarrel
  21. lash — a whip stroke
  22. chair — a leader
  23. stick — a piece of wood
  24. rest — what's left

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