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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: squash · calf · chair · cell · kid · trunk

  1. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  2. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  3. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  4. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  5. He was locked up in a ________________.
  6. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  7. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  8. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  9. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  10. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  11. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  12. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  13. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  14. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  15. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  16. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  17. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  18. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — the sport
  2. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  3. chair — a professorship
  4. trunk — of a tree
  5. cell — in a prison
  6. calf — a young animal
  7. chair — to sit on
  8. kid — to tease
  9. chair — a leader
  10. kid — child
  11. trunk — of an elephant
  12. squash — the vegetable
  13. cell — in biology
  14. squash — to crush
  15. calf — of the leg
  16. cell — a phone
  17. trunk — of a car
  18. calf — a young animal

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