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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: straw · chest · roll · craft · chair · shower · cell · rush

  1. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  2. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  3. We're on a ________________ here.
  4. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  5. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  6. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  7. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  8. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  9. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  10. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  11. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  12. That must've been a ________________.
  13. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  14. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  15. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  16. He was locked up in a ________________.
  17. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  18. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  19. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  20. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  21. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  22. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  23. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  24. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a professorship
  2. shower — rain
  3. roll — on a roll
  4. roll — a list
  5. chest — of your body
  6. chest — a box
  7. shower — to wash
  8. rush — hurry
  9. cell — in biology
  10. shower — a meteor shower
  11. craft — boats
  12. rush — a thrill
  13. chest — of your body
  14. chair — a leader
  15. craft — a handicraft
  16. cell — in a prison
  17. straw — dry grass
  18. straw — to clutch at straws
  19. straw — a straw man
  20. rush — to hurry
  21. cell — a phone
  22. roll — a cake
  23. craft — a skill
  24. chair — to sit on

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