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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: leaves · hand · shower · chair · rest · last · bear · chest

  1. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  2. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  3. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  4. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  5. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  6. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  7. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  8. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  9. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  10. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  11. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  12. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  13. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  14. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  15. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  16. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  17. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  18. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  19. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  20. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  21. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  22. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  23. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  24. False peace will not ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. last — finally
  2. leaves — lets stay
  3. bear — to put up with
  4. hand — in cards
  5. bear — the animal
  6. rest — what's left
  7. chest — of your body
  8. hand — help
  9. chair — a leader
  10. chair — to sit on
  11. bear — the animal
  12. hand — part of the body
  13. last — final
  14. shower — rain
  15. rest — what's left
  16. leaves — to go away
  17. leaves — of a tree
  18. chair — a professorship
  19. rest — a break
  20. shower — a meteor shower
  21. chest — of your body
  22. shower — to wash
  23. chest — a box
  24. last — to go on

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