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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.

Words on the sheet
468
Word bank
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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: hide · chest · net · rash · straw · chair · bound · staff

  1. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  2. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  3. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  4. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  5. Don't do anything ________________.
  6. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  7. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  8. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  9. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  10. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  11. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  12. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  13. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  14. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  15. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  16. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  17. That was ________________ to happen.
  18. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  19. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  20. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  21. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  22. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  23. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  24. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.

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

Answer key

  1. hide — to keep secret
  2. straw — dry grass
  3. chest — of your body
  4. chair — a professorship
  5. rash — hasty
  6. staff — a stick
  7. straw — a straw man
  8. rash — on the skin
  9. chest — a box
  10. staff — employees
  11. straw — to clutch at straws
  12. chair — to sit on
  13. bound — obliged
  14. bound — tied together
  15. chest — of your body
  16. net — in sport
  17. bound — certain
  18. net — for catching
  19. staff — employees
  20. net — after costs
  21. chair — a leader
  22. hide — to keep secret
  23. hide — animal skin
  24. rash — a series

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