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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: last · craft · pound · chair · chest · current · lash · wave

  1. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  2. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  3. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  4. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  5. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  6. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  7. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  8. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  9. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  10. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  11. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  12. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  13. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  14. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  15. False peace will not ________________.
  16. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  17. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  18. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  19. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  20. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  21. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  22. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  23. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  24. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — of your body
  2. current — electric
  3. chair — a professorship
  4. craft — a handicraft
  5. lash — an eyelash
  6. pound — to hit hard
  7. chest — of your body
  8. last — final
  9. craft — a skill
  10. last — finally
  11. craft — boats
  12. current — of water
  13. lash — to lash out
  14. pound — a weight
  15. last — to go on
  16. chair — a leader
  17. chair — to sit on
  18. wave — with your hand
  19. current — happening now
  20. pound — for dogs
  21. wave — of the sea
  22. chest — a box
  23. wave — a sudden rise
  24. lash — a whip stroke

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