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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: chest · kick · calf · game · cell · content · stem · branch

  1. He was locked up in a ________________.
  2. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  3. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  4. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  5. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  6. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  7. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  8. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  9. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  10. That was a fun ________________.
  11. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  12. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  13. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  14. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  15. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  16. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  17. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  18. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  19. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  20. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  21. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  22. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  23. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  24. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.

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

Answer key

  1. cell — in a prison
  2. calf — a young animal
  3. kick — a thrill
  4. stem — a stem cell
  5. branch — a division
  6. branch — of a bank
  7. cell — a phone
  8. kick — with a leg
  9. game — wild animals
  10. game — a match
  11. chest — of your body
  12. calf — of the leg
  13. content — happy
  14. content — videos and posts
  15. cell — in biology
  16. kick — in football
  17. chest — of your body
  18. stem — of a plant
  19. stem — to come from
  20. content — the amount
  21. game — a kind of play
  22. branch — of a tree
  23. chest — a box
  24. calf — a young animal

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