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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: last · chest · stick · prune · mouse · chair · can · tube

  1. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  2. I'll be taking the ________________.
  3. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  4. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  5. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  6. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  7. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  8. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  9. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  10. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  11. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  12. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  13. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  14. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  15. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  16. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  17. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  18. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  19. False peace will not ________________.
  20. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  21. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  22. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  23. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  24. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.

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

Answer key

  1. last — final
  2. tube — the underground
  3. mouse — the animal
  4. stick — a piece of wood
  5. chest — a box
  6. tube — in a tire
  7. chair — a professorship
  8. stick — to attach or keep to
  9. can — to be able to
  10. can — a tin
  11. chair — a leader
  12. prune — to trim
  13. chair — to sit on
  14. stick — a piece of wood
  15. chest — of your body
  16. chest — of your body
  17. mouse — the animal
  18. can — a tin
  19. last — to go on
  20. last — finally
  21. tube — a container
  22. prune — the fruit
  23. mouse — for a computer
  24. prune — to trim

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