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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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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 · object · wave · file · leaves · kick · chair · saw

  1. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  2. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  3. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  4. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  5. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  6. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  7. She's very handy with a ________________.
  8. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  9. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  10. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  11. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  12. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  13. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  14. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  15. He works in a ________________ mill.
  16. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  17. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  18. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  19. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  20. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  21. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  22. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  23. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  24. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — to sit on
  2. wave — with your hand
  3. wave — a sudden rise
  4. kick — with a leg
  5. kick — a thrill
  6. object — to protest
  7. saw — the tool
  8. file — a tool
  9. saw — past of 'see'
  10. object — a thing
  11. chair — a professorship
  12. file — a document
  13. leaves — to go away
  14. chair — a leader
  15. saw — the tool
  16. chest — of your body
  17. leaves — of a tree
  18. object — an aim
  19. leaves — lets stay
  20. kick — in football
  21. chest — of your body
  22. file — a line of people
  23. chest — a box
  24. wave — of the sea

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