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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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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 · kick · straw · stick · swing · chair · toast · cell

  1. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  2. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  3. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  4. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  5. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  6. He was locked up in a ________________.
  7. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  8. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  9. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  10. David sat on the ________________.
  11. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  12. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  13. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  14. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  15. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  16. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  17. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  18. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  19. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  20. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  21. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  22. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  23. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  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. toast — bread
  2. chair — a leader
  3. straw — to clutch at straws
  4. chair — a professorship
  5. swing — music
  6. cell — in a prison
  7. swing — in golf
  8. cell — in biology
  9. kick — with a leg
  10. swing — to play on
  11. stick — a piece of wood
  12. chest — of your body
  13. straw — dry grass
  14. kick — in football
  15. toast — the most admired
  16. chest — a box
  17. chair — to sit on
  18. toast — a drink to someone
  19. stick — to attach or keep to
  20. kick — a thrill
  21. stick — a piece of wood
  22. cell — a phone
  23. straw — a straw man
  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