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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: chest · hide · mug · straw · fork · prune · cabinet · chair

  1. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  2. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  3. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  4. What do you think of the new ________________?
  5. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  6. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  7. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  8. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  9. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  10. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  11. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  12. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  13. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  14. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  15. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  16. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  17. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  18. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  19. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  20. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  21. Where did you ________________ them?
  22. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  23. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  24. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a leader
  2. prune — to trim
  3. chest — of your body
  4. cabinet — ministers
  5. fork — a garden tool
  6. prune — to trim
  7. cabinet — a cupboard
  8. fork — in a road
  9. fork — to eat with
  10. hide — animal skin
  11. hide — to keep secret
  12. chair — a professorship
  13. prune — the fruit
  14. mug — a face
  15. straw — a straw man
  16. straw — to clutch at straws
  17. chest — of your body
  18. chair — to sit on
  19. mug — a cup
  20. chest — a box
  21. mug — to rob
  22. cabinet — ministers
  23. hide — to keep secret
  24. straw — dry grass

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