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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 in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  2. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  3. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  4. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  5. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  6. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  7. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  8. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  9. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  10. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  11. That was ________________ to happen.
  12. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  13. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  14. She's very handy with a ________________.
  15. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  16. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  17. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  18. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  19. He works in a ________________ mill.
  20. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  21. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  22. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  23. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  24. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — of your body
  2. leaves — lets stay
  3. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  4. file — a document
  5. kid — to tease
  6. chair — a professorship
  7. chest — of your body
  8. file — a tool
  9. leaves — of a tree
  10. leaves — to go away
  11. bound — certain
  12. bound — obliged
  13. calf — of the leg
  14. saw — the tool
  15. file — a line of people
  16. chest — a box
  17. calf — a young animal
  18. chair — a leader
  19. saw — the tool
  20. kid — child
  21. saw — past of 'see'
  22. bound — tied together
  23. chair — to sit on
  24. calf — a young animal

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