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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: chest · patient · fall · row · trunk · kid · ball · calf

  1. The King held a masked ________________.
  2. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  3. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  4. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  5. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  6. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  7. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  8. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  9. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  10. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  11. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  12. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  13. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  14. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  15. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  16. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  17. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  18. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  19. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  20. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  21. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  22. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  23. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  24. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.

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

Answer key

  1. ball — a dance
  2. ball — a round shape
  3. fall — the season
  4. fall — to drop
  5. trunk — of a car
  6. chest — of your body
  7. row — a quarrel
  8. ball — a great time
  9. row — a line
  10. fall — to drop
  11. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  12. trunk — of a tree
  13. patient — a sick person
  14. patient — a sick person
  15. chest — a box
  16. calf — a young animal
  17. patient — calm and waiting
  18. calf — a young animal
  19. trunk — of an elephant
  20. calf — of the leg
  21. row — to paddle
  22. kid — child
  23. kid — to tease
  24. chest — of your body

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