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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: wake · chair · lean · kid · nail · season · date · rest

  1. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  2. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  3. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  4. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  5. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  6. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  7. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  8. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  9. Have you settled on a ________________?
  10. Did you ________________ the meat?
  11. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  12. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  13. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  14. The ________________ went through the wall.
  15. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  16. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  17. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  18. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  19. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  20. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  21. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  22. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  23. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  24. I would like to have a ________________ here.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a professorship
  2. wake — before a funeral
  3. nail — on a finger
  4. wake — to stop sleeping
  5. lean — thin
  6. chair — a leader
  7. kid — to tease
  8. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  9. date — on the calendar
  10. season — to add flavour
  11. nail — for a hammer
  12. kid — child
  13. wake — a trail
  14. nail — for a hammer
  15. lean — to rest against
  16. date — the fruit
  17. rest — what's left
  18. season — of the year
  19. lean — to bend
  20. season — in sport
  21. rest — what's left
  22. date — on the calendar
  23. chair — to sit on
  24. rest — a break

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