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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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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: fall · last · rash · lie · sharp · stock · chair · fan

  1. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  2. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  3. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  4. The ________________ market has crashed.
  5. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  6. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  7. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  8. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  9. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  10. False peace will not ________________.
  11. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  12. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  13. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  14. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  15. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  16. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  17. Don't do anything ________________.
  18. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  19. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  20. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  21. It's one o'clock ________________.
  22. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  23. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  24. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a professorship
  2. last — final
  3. fan — to cool the air
  4. stock — shares
  5. chair — a leader
  6. fall — the season
  7. rash — on the skin
  8. chair — to sit on
  9. lie — an untruth
  10. last — to go on
  11. last — finally
  12. fan — a supporter
  13. stock — a soup base
  14. stock — goods
  15. sharp — clever
  16. fan — a supporter
  17. rash — hasty
  18. fall — to drop
  19. lie — to recline
  20. rash — a series
  21. sharp — exactly
  22. sharp — with an edge
  23. fall — to drop
  24. lie — an untruth

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