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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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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: cell · content · racket · chair · kid · calf

  1. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  2. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  3. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  4. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  5. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  6. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  7. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  8. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  9. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  10. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  11. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  12. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  13. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  14. He was locked up in a ________________.
  15. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  16. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  17. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  18. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — to sit on
  2. chair — a professorship
  3. kid — to tease
  4. calf — of the leg
  5. calf — a young animal
  6. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  7. chair — a leader
  8. racket — a loud noise
  9. content — the amount
  10. content — videos and posts
  11. racket — for tennis
  12. content — happy
  13. cell — a phone
  14. cell — in a prison
  15. calf — a young animal
  16. cell — in biology
  17. kid — child
  18. racket — for tennis

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