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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 · degree · pound · chair · trunk · wake · mate · chest

  1. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  2. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  3. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  4. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  5. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  6. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  7. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  8. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  9. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  10. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  11. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  12. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  13. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  14. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  15. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  16. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  17. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  18. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  19. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  20. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  21. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  22. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  23. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  24. Have you found your soul ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. wake — before a funeral
  2. mate — a friend
  3. trunk — of a tree
  4. calf — of the leg
  5. trunk — of an elephant
  6. pound — for dogs
  7. degree — an amount
  8. calf — a young animal
  9. degree — temperature
  10. chair — a professorship
  11. pound — to hit hard
  12. chair — a leader
  13. chest — a box
  14. chest — of your body
  15. wake — to stop sleeping
  16. degree — from a university
  17. pound — a weight
  18. mate — to breed
  19. chest — of your body
  20. trunk — of a car
  21. calf — a young animal
  22. chair — to sit on
  23. wake — a trail
  24. mate — a partner

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