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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.

Words on the sheet
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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: ball · wake · calf · straw · march · chest · coach · last

  1. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  2. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  3. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  4. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  5. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  6. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  7. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  8. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  9. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  10. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  11. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  12. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  13. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  14. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  15. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  16. False peace will not ________________.
  17. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  18. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  19. Have you met the new head ________________?
  20. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  21. The King held a masked ________________.
  22. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  23. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  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. straw — dry grass
  2. chest — of your body
  3. last — final
  4. last — finally
  5. straw — to clutch at straws
  6. calf — a young animal
  7. wake — a trail
  8. march — the month
  9. chest — of your body
  10. ball — a great time
  11. coach — pulled by horses
  12. march — music
  13. calf — of the leg
  14. march — the month
  15. ball — a round shape
  16. last — to go on
  17. wake — to stop sleeping
  18. calf — a young animal
  19. coach — a trainer
  20. wake — before a funeral
  21. ball — a dance
  22. straw — a straw man
  23. coach — a trainer
  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