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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: date · bass · track · straw · chair · chest · calf · cap

  1. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  2. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  3. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  4. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  5. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  6. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  7. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  8. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  9. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  10. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  11. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  12. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  13. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  14. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  15. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  16. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  17. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  18. Have you settled on a ________________?
  19. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  20. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  21. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  22. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  23. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  24. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.

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

Answer key

  1. calf — a young animal
  2. chest — of your body
  3. track — a path
  4. straw — to clutch at straws
  5. chair — to sit on
  6. cap — of ice
  7. straw — a straw man
  8. calf — of the leg
  9. date — on the calendar
  10. chair — a leader
  11. track — a song
  12. bass — the instrument
  13. cap — a lid
  14. date — the fruit
  15. chest — a box
  16. chest — of your body
  17. chair — a professorship
  18. date — on the calendar
  19. bass — the fish
  20. track — to keep track
  21. cap — a hat
  22. straw — dry grass
  23. calf — a young animal
  24. bass — low music

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