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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: mark · chest · rest · lash · roll · chip · wind · sharp

  1. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  2. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  3. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  4. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  5. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  6. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  7. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  8. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  9. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  10. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  11. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  12. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  13. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  14. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  15. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  16. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  17. It's one o'clock ________________.
  18. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  19. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  20. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  21. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  22. We're on a ________________ here.
  23. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  24. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.

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

Answer key

  1. rest — what's left
  2. mark — to pay attention
  3. lash — an eyelash
  4. lash — to lash out
  5. wind — to turn a key
  6. roll — a cake
  7. rest — what's left
  8. chest — a box
  9. sharp — clever
  10. lash — a whip stroke
  11. roll — a list
  12. rest — a break
  13. chest — of your body
  14. mark — a grade
  15. mark — a trace
  16. sharp — with an edge
  17. sharp — exactly
  18. chest — of your body
  19. wind — moving air
  20. chip — in a computer
  21. chip — for betting
  22. roll — on a roll
  23. wind — moving air
  24. chip — to eat

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