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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: branch · straw · board · chest · cell · bat · calf · can

  1. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  2. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  3. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  4. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  5. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  6. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  7. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  8. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  9. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  10. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  11. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  12. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  13. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  14. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  15. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  16. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  17. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  18. He was locked up in a ________________.
  19. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  20. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  21. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  22. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  23. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  24. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.

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

Answer key

  1. cell — a phone
  2. calf — a young animal
  3. straw — dry grass
  4. can — a tin
  5. can — to be able to
  6. bat — the animal
  7. chest — a box
  8. board — to get on
  9. branch — of a tree
  10. branch — a division
  11. can — a tin
  12. straw — to clutch at straws
  13. bat — in an idiom
  14. chest — of your body
  15. cell — in biology
  16. branch — of a bank
  17. board — a flat piece
  18. cell — in a prison
  19. board — a committee
  20. straw — a straw man
  21. bat — for baseball
  22. calf — of the leg
  23. calf — a young animal
  24. chest — of your body

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