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

Word bank: chair · calf · spell · pound · tear · chest

  1. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  2. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  3. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  4. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  5. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  6. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  7. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  8. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  9. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  10. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  11. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  12. How do you ________________ your surname?
  13. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  14. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  15. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  16. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  17. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  18. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. calf — of the leg
  2. calf — a young animal
  3. chair — a leader
  4. pound — a weight
  5. chair — a professorship
  6. chair — to sit on
  7. spell — a short time
  8. tear — to rip
  9. chest — of your body
  10. pound — for dogs
  11. pound — to hit hard
  12. spell — letters
  13. chest — a box
  14. tear — from crying
  15. calf — a young animal
  16. tear — from crying
  17. chest — of your body
  18. spell — magic

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