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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: last · leaves · ground · chest · bore · cell · chair · hide

  1. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  2. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  3. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  4. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  5. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  6. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  7. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  8. False peace will not ________________.
  9. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  10. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  11. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  12. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  13. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  14. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  15. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  16. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  17. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  18. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  19. There's no middle ________________.
  20. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  21. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  22. He was locked up in a ________________.
  23. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  24. The train ________________ at six o'clock.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — of your body
  2. cell — in biology
  3. chest — of your body
  4. hide — animal skin
  5. leaves — lets stay
  6. leaves — of a tree
  7. ground — crushed
  8. last — to go on
  9. hide — to keep secret
  10. last — finally
  11. chair — a professorship
  12. chair — a leader
  13. bore — to tire
  14. bore — gave birth
  15. chest — a box
  16. hide — to keep secret
  17. bore — to drill
  18. chair — to sit on
  19. ground — a position
  20. ground — the earth
  21. last — final
  22. cell — in a prison
  23. cell — a phone
  24. leaves — to go away

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