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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 120 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 museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  3. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  4. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  5. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  6. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  7. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  8. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  9. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  10. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  11. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  12. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  13. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  14. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  15. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  16. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  17. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  18. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  19. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  20. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  21. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  22. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  23. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  24. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.

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

Answer key

  1. fork — to eat with
  2. wax — for sculpting
  3. chest — of your body
  4. face — to point toward
  5. chest — of your body
  6. craft — a skill
  7. calf — of the leg
  8. calf — a young animal
  9. craft — boats
  10. craft — a handicraft
  11. field — for sport
  12. squash — the vegetable
  13. fork — in a road
  14. wax — in the ear
  15. chest — a box
  16. field — a subject
  17. field — farmland
  18. wax — to grow
  19. face — part of the head
  20. calf — a young animal
  21. fork — a garden tool
  22. face — to confront
  23. squash — the sport
  24. squash — to crush

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