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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: straw · last · rush · chair · kick · toast · stem · lie

  1. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  2. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  3. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  4. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  5. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  6. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  7. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  8. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  9. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  10. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  11. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  12. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  13. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  14. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  15. That must've been a ________________.
  16. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  17. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  18. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  19. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  20. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  21. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  22. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  23. False peace will not ________________.
  24. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.

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

Answer key

  1. toast — the most admired
  2. toast — bread
  3. lie — to recline
  4. straw — dry grass
  5. lie — an untruth
  6. stem — to come from
  7. chair — a professorship
  8. chair — a leader
  9. rush — hurry
  10. last — final
  11. stem — of a plant
  12. kick — a thrill
  13. lie — an untruth
  14. straw — to clutch at straws
  15. rush — a thrill
  16. kick — in football
  17. rush — to hurry
  18. last — finally
  19. chair — to sit on
  20. kick — with a leg
  21. straw — a straw man
  22. stem — a stem cell
  23. last — to go on
  24. toast — a drink to someone

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