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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: cell · lash · tube · chest · chair · calf · wake · wind

  1. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  2. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  3. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  4. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  5. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  6. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  7. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  8. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  9. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  10. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  11. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  12. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  13. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  14. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  15. I'll be taking the ________________.
  16. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  17. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  18. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  19. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  20. He was locked up in a ________________.
  21. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  22. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  23. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  24. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.

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

Answer key

  1. wake — to stop sleeping
  2. wind — moving air
  3. tube — a container
  4. chest — of your body
  5. chest — of your body
  6. wake — before a funeral
  7. lash — a whip stroke
  8. calf — a young animal
  9. lash — to lash out
  10. wind — to turn a key
  11. cell — a phone
  12. chair — a professorship
  13. cell — in biology
  14. calf — a young animal
  15. tube — the underground
  16. calf — of the leg
  17. chest — a box
  18. wake — a trail
  19. tube — in a tire
  20. cell — in a prison
  21. chair — to sit on
  22. lash — an eyelash
  23. wind — moving air
  24. chair — a leader

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