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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: bay · straw · wake · chair · land · leaves · chest · fall

  1. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  2. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  3. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  4. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  5. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  6. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  7. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  8. When are we going to ________________?
  9. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  10. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  11. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  12. My mare is ________________ in color.
  13. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  14. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  15. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  16. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  17. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  18. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  19. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  20. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  21. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  22. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  23. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  24. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.

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

Answer key

  1. wake — a trail
  2. chest — a box
  3. leaves — to go away
  4. chair — to sit on
  5. leaves — lets stay
  6. wake — before a funeral
  7. fall — the season
  8. land — to come down
  9. land — a country
  10. chest — of your body
  11. wake — to stop sleeping
  12. bay — a horse colour
  13. fall — to drop
  14. straw — to clutch at straws
  15. straw — a straw man
  16. bay — a part of the sea
  17. straw — dry grass
  18. chair — a professorship
  19. fall — to drop
  20. land — ground
  21. leaves — of a tree
  22. chair — a leader
  23. bay — to keep at bay
  24. chest — of your body

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