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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 · chair · wave · bore · chest · hand · cap

  1. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  2. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  3. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  4. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  5. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  6. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  7. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  8. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  9. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  10. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  11. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  12. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  13. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  14. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  15. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  16. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  17. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  18. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  19. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  20. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  21. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  22. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  23. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  24. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a leader
  2. hand — help
  3. chest — of your body
  4. bore — to tire
  5. race — humankind
  6. race — a contest
  7. wave — with your hand
  8. race — the arms race
  9. calf — a young animal
  10. cap — a lid
  11. bore — to drill
  12. chest — a box
  13. wave — a sudden rise
  14. chest — of your body
  15. bore — gave birth
  16. chair — a professorship
  17. hand — in cards
  18. hand — part of the body
  19. calf — of the leg
  20. cap — of ice
  21. calf — a young animal
  22. chair — to sit on
  23. wave — of the sea
  24. cap — a hat

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