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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 116 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: chair · craft · nail · stand · cell · cap · kid · last

  1. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  2. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  3. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  4. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  5. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  6. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  7. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  8. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  9. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  10. He was locked up in a ________________.
  11. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  12. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  13. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  14. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  15. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  16. The ________________ went through the wall.
  17. I can't ________________ this cold.
  18. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  19. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  20. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  21. False peace will not ________________.
  22. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  23. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  24. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.

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

Answer key

  1. cap — a lid
  2. chair — a professorship
  3. craft — boats
  4. last — final
  5. kid — to tease
  6. stand — on your feet
  7. cell — a phone
  8. nail — for a hammer
  9. craft — a handicraft
  10. cell — in a prison
  11. kid — child
  12. stand — for spectators
  13. cap — a hat
  14. chair — to sit on
  15. nail — on a finger
  16. nail — for a hammer
  17. stand — to bear
  18. chair — a leader
  19. craft — a skill
  20. last — finally
  21. last — to go on
  22. cap — of ice
  23. cell — in biology
  24. kid — young goat (kid gloves)

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