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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: cell · chair · chest · mouse · present · lash · hide · band

  1. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  2. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  3. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  4. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  5. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  6. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  7. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  8. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  9. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  10. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  11. He was locked up in a ________________.
  12. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  13. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  14. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  15. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  16. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  17. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  18. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  19. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  20. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  21. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  22. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  23. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  24. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.

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

Answer key

  1. present — a gift
  2. cell — a phone
  3. chest — of your body
  4. chair — a professorship
  5. band — a music group
  6. lash — an eyelash
  7. cell — in biology
  8. chest — a box
  9. present — the time now
  10. mouse — for a computer
  11. cell — in a prison
  12. hide — to keep secret
  13. present — there
  14. chair — a leader
  15. hide — animal skin
  16. lash — a whip stroke
  17. hide — to keep secret
  18. band — a rubber band
  19. chest — of your body
  20. mouse — the animal
  21. chair — to sit on
  22. lash — to lash out
  23. band — a ring
  24. mouse — the 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