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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: chair · lash · bound · plane · wax · club · pit · straw

  1. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  2. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  3. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  4. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  5. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  6. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  7. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  8. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  9. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  10. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  11. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  12. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  13. That was ________________ to happen.
  14. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  15. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  16. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  17. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  18. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  19. The ________________ took off on time.
  20. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  21. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  22. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  23. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  24. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.

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

Answer key

  1. lash — to lash out
  2. chair — a professorship
  3. pit — in a race
  4. bound — tied together
  5. club — for golf
  6. lash — a whip stroke
  7. club — a group
  8. club — for dancing
  9. pit — a fruit stone
  10. pit — a hole
  11. plane — a tool
  12. plane — in geometry
  13. bound — certain
  14. chair — a leader
  15. chair — to sit on
  16. bound — obliged
  17. wax — to grow
  18. lash — an eyelash
  19. plane — an aircraft
  20. wax — in the ear
  21. straw — a straw man
  22. straw — to clutch at straws
  23. straw — dry grass
  24. wax — for sculpting

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