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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 · firm · club · chair · trunk · lash · chest · clip

  1. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  2. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  3. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  4. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  5. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  6. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  7. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  8. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  9. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  10. He was locked up in a ________________.
  11. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  12. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  13. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  14. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  15. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  16. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  17. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  18. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  19. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  20. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  21. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  22. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  23. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  24. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.

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

Answer key

  1. trunk — of a car
  2. lash — an eyelash
  3. chest — a box
  4. clip — to cut
  5. trunk — of a tree
  6. firm — steady
  7. cell — a phone
  8. cell — in biology
  9. chair — a professorship
  10. cell — in a prison
  11. trunk — of an elephant
  12. firm — a company
  13. chair — a leader
  14. club — a group
  15. chair — to sit on
  16. clip — a video
  17. club — for golf
  18. firm — decided
  19. clip — for paper
  20. club — for dancing
  21. lash — a whip stroke
  22. chest — of your body
  23. lash — to lash out
  24. chest — of your body

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