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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: rest · staff · saw · wave · chair · wound · fall · rash

  1. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  2. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  3. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  4. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  5. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  6. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  7. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  8. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  9. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  10. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  11. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  12. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  13. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  14. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  15. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  16. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  17. He works in a ________________ mill.
  18. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  19. She's very handy with a ________________.
  20. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  21. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  22. Don't do anything ________________.
  23. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  24. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a leader
  2. wound — past of 'wind'
  3. rash — on the skin
  4. rash — a series
  5. staff — a stick
  6. fall — to drop
  7. staff — employees
  8. rest — a break
  9. rest — what's left
  10. chair — a professorship
  11. fall — to drop
  12. wave — a sudden rise
  13. wound — an injury
  14. wound — an injury
  15. wave — with your hand
  16. staff — employees
  17. saw — the tool
  18. chair — to sit on
  19. saw — the tool
  20. fall — the season
  21. wave — of the sea
  22. rash — hasty
  23. rest — what's left
  24. saw — past of 'see'

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