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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: lash · straw · saw · pit · race · staff · chest · fall

  1. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  2. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  3. He works in a ________________ mill.
  4. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  5. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  6. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  7. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  8. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  9. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  10. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  11. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  12. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  13. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  14. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  15. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  16. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  17. She's very handy with a ________________.
  18. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  19. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  20. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  21. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  22. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  23. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  24. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — of your body
  2. staff — employees
  3. saw — the tool
  4. straw — dry grass
  5. fall — to drop
  6. fall — to drop
  7. race — the arms race
  8. race — a contest
  9. lash — a whip stroke
  10. race — humankind
  11. pit — a hole
  12. pit — in a race
  13. chest — of your body
  14. chest — a box
  15. lash — an eyelash
  16. pit — a fruit stone
  17. saw — the tool
  18. fall — the season
  19. staff — employees
  20. straw — to clutch at straws
  21. saw — past of 'see'
  22. straw — a straw man
  23. staff — a stick
  24. lash — to lash out

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