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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: chair · file · season · last · calf · firm · face · chest

  1. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  2. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  3. Did you ________________ the meat?
  4. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  5. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  6. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  7. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  8. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  9. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  10. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  11. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  12. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  13. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  14. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  15. False peace will not ________________.
  16. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  17. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  18. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  19. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  20. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  21. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  22. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  23. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  24. At ________________, we arrived at the village.

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

Answer key

  1. file — a tool
  2. chair — to sit on
  3. season — to add flavour
  4. season — in sport
  5. chest — of your body
  6. chair — a leader
  7. calf — a young animal
  8. face — to confront
  9. season — of the year
  10. last — final
  11. calf — of the leg
  12. file — a document
  13. calf — a young animal
  14. chest — of your body
  15. last — to go on
  16. face — part of the head
  17. face — to point toward
  18. firm — a company
  19. file — a line of people
  20. chair — a professorship
  21. firm — decided
  22. chest — a box
  23. firm — steady
  24. last — finally

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