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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 120 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: land · row · staff · cell · chair · chest

  1. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  2. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  3. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  4. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  5. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  6. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  7. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  8. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  9. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  10. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  11. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  12. He was locked up in a ________________.
  13. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  14. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  15. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  16. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  17. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  18. When are we going to ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. staff — a stick
  2. chest — of your body
  3. row — to paddle
  4. row — a quarrel
  5. chair — a leader
  6. chest — of your body
  7. chair — a professorship
  8. cell — in biology
  9. chest — a box
  10. chair — to sit on
  11. cell — a phone
  12. cell — in a prison
  13. land — ground
  14. land — a country
  15. staff — employees
  16. row — a line
  17. staff — employees
  18. land — to come down

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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