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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: stick · roll · rock · cell · cold · chest · chair · object

  1. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  2. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  3. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  4. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  5. The water is too ________________.
  6. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  7. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  8. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  9. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  10. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  11. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  12. We're on a ________________ here.
  13. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  14. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  15. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  16. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  17. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  18. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  19. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  20. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  21. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  22. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  23. He was locked up in a ________________.
  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. cell — in biology
  3. chest — of your body
  4. chair — a leader
  5. cold — not warm
  6. chair — a professorship
  7. cold — the Cold War
  8. chair — to sit on
  9. rock — to move gently
  10. roll — a cake
  11. stick — a piece of wood
  12. roll — on a roll
  13. object — an aim
  14. chest — a box
  15. object — a thing
  16. stick — to attach or keep to
  17. cold — an illness
  18. object — to protest
  19. stick — a piece of wood
  20. rock — music
  21. rock — a stone
  22. roll — a list
  23. cell — in a prison
  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