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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 in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  2. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  3. You don't need to ________________ round.
  4. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  5. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  6. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  7. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  8. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  9. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  10. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  11. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  12. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  13. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  14. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  15. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  16. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  17. We're almost out of ________________.
  18. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  19. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  20. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  21. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  22. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  23. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  24. Did you ________________ the button?

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

Answer key

  1. fork — to eat with
  2. calf — a young animal
  3. pop — to visit
  4. chair — to sit on
  5. calf — a young animal
  6. fall — to drop
  7. kid — to tease
  8. press — newspapers
  9. chair — a professorship
  10. snap — to click
  11. kid — child
  12. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  13. pop — music
  14. fall — to drop
  15. calf — of the leg
  16. fall — the season
  17. pop — soda
  18. snap — to snap out of it
  19. fork — a garden tool
  20. snap — to speak sharply
  21. chair — a leader
  22. press — a publisher
  23. fork — in a road
  24. press — to push

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