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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: race · calf · chest · band · row · perch · hand · cell

  1. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  2. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  3. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  4. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  5. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  6. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  7. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  8. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  9. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  10. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  11. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  12. He was locked up in a ________________.
  13. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  14. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  15. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  16. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  17. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  18. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  19. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  20. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  21. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  22. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  23. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  24. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.

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

Answer key

  1. race — humankind
  2. calf — a young animal
  3. hand — in cards
  4. perch — for a bird
  5. perch — for a bird
  6. chest — of your body
  7. row — to paddle
  8. cell — a phone
  9. hand — part of the body
  10. perch — the fish
  11. band — a ring
  12. cell — in a prison
  13. calf — of the leg
  14. row — a line
  15. row — a quarrel
  16. race — a contest
  17. band — a music group
  18. cell — in biology
  19. race — the arms race
  20. calf — a young animal
  21. chest — of your body
  22. hand — help
  23. band — a rubber band
  24. chest — a box

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