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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: calf · bat · chair · rest · chest · deal · tear · wound

  1. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  2. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  3. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  4. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  5. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  6. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  7. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  8. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  9. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  10. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  11. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  12. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  13. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  14. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  15. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  16. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  17. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  18. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  19. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  20. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  21. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  22. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  23. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  24. This looks like a gunshot ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. deal — to handle
  2. rest — a break
  3. chest — of your body
  4. bat — the animal
  5. deal — a big deal
  6. calf — a young animal
  7. tear — from crying
  8. tear — to rip
  9. calf — of the leg
  10. calf — a young animal
  11. bat — in an idiom
  12. chair — a professorship
  13. tear — from crying
  14. rest — what's left
  15. chest — of your body
  16. chair — to sit on
  17. chest — a box
  18. deal — an agreement
  19. wound — an injury
  20. wound — past of 'wind'
  21. bat — for baseball
  22. chair — a leader
  23. rest — what's left
  24. wound — an injury

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