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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. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  2. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  3. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  4. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  5. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  6. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  7. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  8. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  9. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  10. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  11. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  12. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  13. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  14. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  15. It's one o'clock ________________.
  16. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  17. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  18. This piece is in a major ________________.
  19. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  20. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  21. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  22. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  23. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  24. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — of your body
  2. calf — of the leg
  3. calf — a young animal
  4. sharp — with an edge
  5. fork — in a road
  6. sharp — clever
  7. key — for a lock
  8. field — farmland
  9. chest — of your body
  10. chip — in a computer
  11. net — for catching
  12. key — the most important part
  13. fork — to eat with
  14. field — a subject
  15. sharp — exactly
  16. net — in sport
  17. chest — a box
  18. key — in music
  19. field — for sport
  20. chip — to eat
  21. fork — a garden tool
  22. net — after costs
  23. calf — a young animal
  24. chip — for betting

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