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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: chair · season · firm · mine · bat · straw · nail · lie

  1. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  2. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  3. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  4. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  5. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  6. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  7. Did you ________________ the meat?
  8. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  9. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  10. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  11. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  12. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  13. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  14. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  15. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  16. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  17. The ________________ went through the wall.
  18. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  19. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  20. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  21. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  22. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  23. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  24. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a professorship
  2. season — of the year
  3. nail — on a finger
  4. firm — a company
  5. mine — an explosive
  6. bat — for baseball
  7. season — to add flavour
  8. mine — for digging
  9. chair — to sit on
  10. firm — steady
  11. bat — in an idiom
  12. chair — a leader
  13. season — in sport
  14. straw — dry grass
  15. mine — belonging to me
  16. lie — to recline
  17. nail — for a hammer
  18. lie — an untruth
  19. nail — for a hammer
  20. bat — the animal
  21. straw — to clutch at straws
  22. firm — decided
  23. straw — a straw man
  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