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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: last · kid · calf · chest · lie · branch · cell · object

  1. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  2. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  3. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  4. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  5. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  6. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  7. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  8. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  9. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  10. False peace will not ________________.
  11. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  12. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  13. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  14. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  15. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  16. He was locked up in a ________________.
  17. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  18. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  19. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  20. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  21. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  22. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  23. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  24. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.

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

Answer key

  1. last — final
  2. kid — child
  3. calf — a young animal
  4. branch — a division
  5. lie — an untruth
  6. cell — in biology
  7. chest — a box
  8. last — finally
  9. branch — of a bank
  10. last — to go on
  11. calf — a young animal
  12. branch — of a tree
  13. calf — of the leg
  14. object — a thing
  15. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  16. cell — in a prison
  17. chest — of your body
  18. lie — to recline
  19. lie — an untruth
  20. object — to protest
  21. object — an aim
  22. chest — of your body
  23. cell — a phone
  24. kid — to tease

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