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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 120 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: chest · bay · rule · snap · track · last · swing · chair

  1. False peace will not ________________.
  2. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  3. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  4. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  5. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  6. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  7. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  8. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  9. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  10. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  11. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  12. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  13. David sat on the ________________.
  14. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  15. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  16. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  17. My mare is ________________ in color.
  18. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  19. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  20. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  21. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  22. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  23. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  24. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.

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

Answer key

  1. last — to go on
  2. chair — to sit on
  3. last — finally
  4. chest — of your body
  5. bay — to keep at bay
  6. chair — a leader
  7. bay — a part of the sea
  8. rule — government
  9. rule — a law
  10. last — final
  11. snap — to snap out of it
  12. snap — to speak sharply
  13. swing — to play on
  14. track — a path
  15. track — a song
  16. snap — to click
  17. bay — a horse colour
  18. swing — music
  19. track — to keep track
  20. rule — to rule out
  21. swing — in golf
  22. chair — a professorship
  23. chest — of your body
  24. chest — a box

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