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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: trunk · foot · chair · sharp · snap · stick · chest · saw

  1. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  2. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  3. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  4. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  5. He works in a ________________ mill.
  6. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  7. She's very handy with a ________________.
  8. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  9. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  10. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  11. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  12. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  13. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  14. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  15. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  16. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  17. It's one o'clock ________________.
  18. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  19. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  20. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  21. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  22. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  23. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  24. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — to sit on
  2. stick — a piece of wood
  3. foot — part of the body
  4. chair — a leader
  5. saw — the tool
  6. stick — to attach or keep to
  7. saw — the tool
  8. snap — to click
  9. snap — to snap out of it
  10. chair — a professorship
  11. trunk — of a car
  12. trunk — of an elephant
  13. sharp — with an edge
  14. stick — a piece of wood
  15. snap — to speak sharply
  16. foot — the bottom
  17. sharp — exactly
  18. sharp — clever
  19. chest — of your body
  20. trunk — of a tree
  21. foot — a measure
  22. saw — past of 'see'
  23. chest — of your body
  24. chest — a box

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