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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. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  2. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  3. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  4. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  5. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  6. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  7. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  8. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  9. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  10. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  11. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  12. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  13. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  14. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  15. Did you ________________ the button?
  16. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  17. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  18. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  19. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  20. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  21. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  22. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  23. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  24. We took cover from the thunder ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. calf — a young animal
  2. chest — a box
  3. press — newspapers
  4. chest — of your body
  5. shower — to wash
  6. foot — part of the body
  7. foot — a measure
  8. fork — to eat with
  9. shower — a meteor shower
  10. calf — of the leg
  11. calf — a young animal
  12. press — a publisher
  13. kid — child
  14. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  15. press — to push
  16. scale — in music
  17. fork — a garden tool
  18. kid — to tease
  19. scale — for weighing
  20. foot — the bottom
  21. chest — of your body
  22. fork — in a road
  23. scale — size or range
  24. shower — rain

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