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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: spring · wind · chair · kick · lash · rest · rash · board

  1. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  2. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  3. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  4. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  5. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  6. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  7. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  8. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  9. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  10. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  11. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  12. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  13. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  14. Don't do anything ________________.
  15. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  16. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  17. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  18. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  19. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  20. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  21. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  22. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  23. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  24. I seem to be developing a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a professorship
  2. spring — the season
  3. lash — an eyelash
  4. chair — to sit on
  5. board — to get on
  6. board — a committee
  7. spring — a coil
  8. board — a flat piece
  9. wind — to turn a key
  10. kick — in football
  11. rash — a series
  12. wind — moving air
  13. lash — a whip stroke
  14. rash — hasty
  15. rest — what's left
  16. spring — of water
  17. lash — to lash out
  18. rest — what's left
  19. kick — a thrill
  20. kick — with a leg
  21. wind — moving air
  22. chair — a leader
  23. rest — a break
  24. rash — on the skin

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