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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: straw · rest · chest · kick · cell · stand

  1. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  2. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  3. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  4. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  5. He was locked up in a ________________.
  6. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  7. I can't ________________ this cold.
  8. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  9. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  10. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  11. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  12. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  13. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  14. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  15. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  16. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  17. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  18. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.

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

Answer key

  1. kick — with a leg
  2. rest — what's left
  3. rest — what's left
  4. cell — a phone
  5. cell — in a prison
  6. cell — in biology
  7. stand — to bear
  8. stand — for spectators
  9. straw — a straw man
  10. chest — of your body
  11. rest — a break
  12. stand — on your feet
  13. kick — a thrill
  14. chest — of your body
  15. chest — a box
  16. straw — to clutch at straws
  17. straw — dry grass
  18. kick — in football

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