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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: cell · rash · hide · rock · chair · lash · kid · face

  1. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  2. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  3. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  4. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  5. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  6. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  7. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  8. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  9. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  10. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  11. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  12. Don't do anything ________________.
  13. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  14. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  15. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  16. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  17. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  18. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  19. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  20. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  21. He was locked up in a ________________.
  22. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  23. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  24. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cell — a phone
  2. rock — a stone
  3. rash — a series
  4. lash — an eyelash
  5. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  6. hide — to keep secret
  7. face — to point toward
  8. chair — a professorship
  9. lash — a whip stroke
  10. face — part of the head
  11. kid — to tease
  12. rash — hasty
  13. chair — a leader
  14. lash — to lash out
  15. rock — music
  16. face — to confront
  17. rash — on the skin
  18. rock — to move gently
  19. kid — child
  20. hide — animal skin
  21. cell — in a prison
  22. cell — in biology
  23. hide — to keep secret
  24. chair — to sit 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