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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: board · chest · chair · band · row · spell · calf · face

  1. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  2. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  3. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  4. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  5. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  6. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  7. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  8. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  9. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  10. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  11. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  12. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  13. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  14. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  15. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  16. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  17. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  18. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  19. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  20. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  21. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  22. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  23. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  24. How do you ________________ your surname?

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a professorship
  2. face — to confront
  3. chest — a box
  4. row — a quarrel
  5. spell — magic
  6. band — a rubber band
  7. board — a committee
  8. spell — a short time
  9. chest — of your body
  10. chair — to sit on
  11. board — to get on
  12. row — to paddle
  13. board — a flat piece
  14. row — a line
  15. chest — of your body
  16. face — part of the head
  17. calf — of the leg
  18. chair — a leader
  19. band — a music group
  20. calf — a young animal
  21. band — a ring
  22. face — to point toward
  23. calf — a young animal
  24. spell — letters

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