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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 120 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: chest · content · stick · shower · coach · calf · wake · hand

  1. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  2. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  3. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  4. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  5. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  6. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  7. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  8. Have you met the new head ________________?
  9. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  10. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  11. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  12. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  13. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  14. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  15. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  16. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  17. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  18. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  19. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  20. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  21. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  22. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  23. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  24. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. stick — a piece of wood
  2. coach — a trainer
  3. stick — to attach or keep to
  4. hand — part of the body
  5. shower — rain
  6. coach — pulled by horses
  7. chest — of your body
  8. coach — a trainer
  9. chest — of your body
  10. wake — to stop sleeping
  11. hand — in cards
  12. wake — before a funeral
  13. content — happy
  14. wake — a trail
  15. hand — help
  16. shower — a meteor shower
  17. calf — a young animal
  18. shower — to wash
  19. content — videos and posts
  20. calf — of the leg
  21. chest — a box
  22. content — the amount
  23. stick — a piece of wood
  24. calf — a young animal

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