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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. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  3. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  4. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  5. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  6. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  7. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  8. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  9. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  10. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  11. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  12. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  13. Did you ________________ the button?
  14. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  15. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  16. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  17. David sat on the ________________.
  18. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  19. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  20. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  21. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  22. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  23. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  24. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fork — to eat with
  2. craft — a skill
  3. bat — in an idiom
  4. bat — the animal
  5. march — the month
  6. press — a publisher
  7. march — music
  8. calf — a young animal
  9. fork — a garden tool
  10. bat — for baseball
  11. craft — a handicraft
  12. swing — in golf
  13. press — to push
  14. calf — of the leg
  15. chest — of your body
  16. march — the month
  17. swing — to play on
  18. craft — boats
  19. fork — in a road
  20. press — newspapers
  21. swing — music
  22. chest — a box
  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