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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. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  2. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  3. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  4. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  5. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  6. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  7. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  8. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  9. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  10. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  11. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  12. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  13. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  14. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  15. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  16. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  17. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  18. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  19. David sat on the ________________.
  20. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  21. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  22. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  23. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  24. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.

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

Answer key

  1. calf — of the leg
  2. swing — in golf
  3. calf — a young animal
  4. wound — an injury
  5. chest — a box
  6. stick — a piece of wood
  7. row — a quarrel
  8. wound — past of 'wind'
  9. row — a line
  10. chest — of your body
  11. present — the time now
  12. chip — to eat
  13. wound — an injury
  14. chip — for betting
  15. stick — a piece of wood
  16. swing — music
  17. chip — in a computer
  18. calf — a young animal
  19. swing — to play on
  20. row — to paddle
  21. stick — to attach or keep to
  22. present — a gift
  23. chest — of your body
  24. present — there

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