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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
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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 · season · pop · cabinet · row · foot · chair · lean

  1. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  2. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  3. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  4. You don't need to ________________ round.
  5. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  6. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  7. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  8. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  9. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  10. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  11. What do you think of the new ________________?
  12. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  13. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  14. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  15. Did you ________________ the meat?
  16. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  17. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  18. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  19. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  20. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  21. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  22. We're almost out of ________________.
  23. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  24. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. row — a quarrel
  2. chair — a leader
  3. chest — a box
  4. pop — to visit
  5. season — of the year
  6. foot — the bottom
  7. row — a line
  8. chest — of your body
  9. pop — music
  10. chair — to sit on
  11. cabinet — ministers
  12. lean — to bend
  13. chair — a professorship
  14. cabinet — a cupboard
  15. season — to add flavour
  16. season — in sport
  17. lean — to rest against
  18. foot — a measure
  19. lean — thin
  20. row — to paddle
  21. foot — part of the body
  22. pop — soda
  23. cabinet — ministers
  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