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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 · cell · cue · chest · cabinet · date · fan · kick

  1. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  2. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  3. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  4. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  5. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  6. What do you think of the new ________________?
  7. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  8. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  9. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  10. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  11. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  12. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  13. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  14. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  15. He was locked up in a ________________.
  16. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  17. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  18. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  19. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  20. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  21. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  22. Have you settled on a ________________?
  23. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  24. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!

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

Answer key

  1. chest — of your body
  2. straw — dry grass
  3. straw — a straw man
  4. cell — in biology
  5. cue — for pool
  6. cabinet — ministers
  7. kick — in football
  8. fan — to cool the air
  9. cabinet — a cupboard
  10. straw — to clutch at straws
  11. cabinet — ministers
  12. cue — a signal
  13. fan — a supporter
  14. kick — with a leg
  15. cell — in a prison
  16. date — the fruit
  17. kick — a thrill
  18. date — on the calendar
  19. fan — a supporter
  20. chest — of your body
  21. chest — a box
  22. date — on the calendar
  23. cue — a hint
  24. cell — a phone

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