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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 120 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: trunk · pitcher · chair · staff · cell · clip · chest · safe

  1. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  2. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  3. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  4. He is an ace ________________.
  5. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  6. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  7. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  8. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  9. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  10. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  11. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  12. He was locked up in a ________________.
  13. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  14. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  15. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  16. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  17. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  18. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  19. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  20. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  21. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  22. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  23. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  24. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.

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

Answer key

  1. trunk — of a car
  2. staff — employees
  3. cell — a phone
  4. pitcher — in baseball
  5. chair — a leader
  6. safe — a strongbox
  7. safe — out of danger
  8. chest — of your body
  9. staff — a stick
  10. clip — to cut
  11. chair — to sit on
  12. cell — in a prison
  13. pitcher — a jug
  14. chair — a professorship
  15. clip — for paper
  16. staff — employees
  17. chest — of your body
  18. trunk — of a tree
  19. pitcher — a jug
  20. trunk — of an elephant
  21. chest — a box
  22. clip — a video
  23. safe — out of danger
  24. cell — in biology

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