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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. He was locked up in a ________________.
  2. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  3. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  4. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  5. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  6. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  7. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  8. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  9. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  10. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  11. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  12. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  13. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  14. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  15. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  16. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  17. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  18. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  19. Have you met the new head ________________?
  20. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  21. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  22. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  23. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  24. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.

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

Answer key

  1. cell — in a prison
  2. coach — pulled by horses
  3. staff — employees
  4. coach — a trainer
  5. foot — part of the body
  6. calf — a young animal
  7. staff — employees
  8. staff — a stick
  9. chest — of your body
  10. wound — an injury
  11. file — a tool
  12. calf — of the leg
  13. foot — a measure
  14. file — a document
  15. chest — a box
  16. calf — a young animal
  17. wound — an injury
  18. wound — past of 'wind'
  19. coach — a trainer
  20. cell — a phone
  21. foot — the bottom
  22. file — a line of people
  23. chest — of your body
  24. cell — in biology

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