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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: chest · cell · chair · last · craft · hide · net · mine

  1. False peace will not ________________.
  2. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  3. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  4. He was locked up in a ________________.
  5. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  6. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  7. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  8. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  9. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  10. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  11. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  12. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  13. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  14. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  15. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  16. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  17. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  18. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  19. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  20. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  21. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  22. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  23. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  24. He took the fish out of the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. last — to go on
  2. craft — a handicraft
  3. net — after costs
  4. cell — in a prison
  5. cell — a phone
  6. chest — a box
  7. hide — to keep secret
  8. mine — belonging to me
  9. last — finally
  10. hide — animal skin
  11. mine — an explosive
  12. mine — for digging
  13. chest — of your body
  14. craft — boats
  15. chair — to sit on
  16. last — final
  17. chair — a leader
  18. hide — to keep secret
  19. chair — a professorship
  20. chest — of your body
  21. net — in sport
  22. cell — in biology
  23. craft — a skill
  24. net — for catching

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