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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: wake · bowl · chest · chair · cell · bark

  1. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  2. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  3. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  4. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  5. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  6. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  7. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  8. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  9. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  10. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  11. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  12. He was locked up in a ________________.
  13. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  14. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  15. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  16. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  17. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  18. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.

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

Answer key

  1. cell — a phone
  2. chest — a box
  3. chest — of your body
  4. bark — to shout
  5. wake — to stop sleeping
  6. chair — a professorship
  7. bowl — a dish
  8. wake — a trail
  9. bowl — a football final
  10. chair — a leader
  11. wake — before a funeral
  12. cell — in a prison
  13. chair — to sit on
  14. bark — of a tree
  15. chest — of your body
  16. bowl — to roll
  17. cell — in biology
  18. bark — a dog's sound

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