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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: foot · land · chair · calf · stock · chest · bear · perch

  1. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  2. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  3. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  4. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  5. The ________________ market has crashed.
  6. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  7. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  8. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  9. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  10. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  11. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  12. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  13. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  14. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  15. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  16. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  17. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  18. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  19. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  20. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  21. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  22. When are we going to ________________?
  23. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  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. bear — the animal
  2. stock — goods
  3. chest — of your body
  4. land — ground
  5. stock — shares
  6. chair — a professorship
  7. calf — a young animal
  8. foot — part of the body
  9. foot — a measure
  10. calf — of the leg
  11. chest — a box
  12. land — a country
  13. stock — a soup base
  14. foot — the bottom
  15. chair — a leader
  16. perch — the fish
  17. perch — for a bird
  18. bear — the animal
  19. bear — to put up with
  20. chair — to sit on
  21. perch — for a bird
  22. land — to come down
  23. chest — of your body
  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