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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: chair · calf · lean · spring · row · chest · deal · craft

  1. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  2. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  3. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  4. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  5. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  6. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  7. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  8. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  9. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  10. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  11. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  12. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  13. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  14. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  15. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  16. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  17. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  18. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  19. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  20. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  21. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  22. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  23. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  24. I had a ________________ with my boss today.

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

Answer key

  1. deal — to handle
  2. deal — a big deal
  3. row — a line
  4. lean — to bend
  5. chest — of your body
  6. chair — a professorship
  7. calf — a young animal
  8. calf — a young animal
  9. craft — a skill
  10. chest — of your body
  11. lean — thin
  12. chair — to sit on
  13. calf — of the leg
  14. deal — an agreement
  15. row — to paddle
  16. craft — boats
  17. craft — a handicraft
  18. spring — the season
  19. spring — a coil
  20. lean — to rest against
  21. chair — a leader
  22. chest — a box
  23. spring — of water
  24. row — a quarrel

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