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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 116 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. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  3. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  4. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  5. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  6. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  7. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  8. What do you think of the new ________________?
  9. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  10. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  11. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  12. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  13. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  14. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  15. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  16. David sat on the ________________.
  17. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  18. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  19. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  20. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  21. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  22. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  23. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  24. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.

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

Answer key

  1. fork — to eat with
  2. kid — child
  3. kid — to tease
  4. trunk — of a tree
  5. fork — a garden tool
  6. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  7. calf — a young animal
  8. cabinet — ministers
  9. trunk — of an elephant
  10. wax — to grow
  11. swing — in golf
  12. tear — from crying
  13. calf — a young animal
  14. wax — in the ear
  15. tear — to rip
  16. swing — to play on
  17. cabinet — a cupboard
  18. calf — of the leg
  19. trunk — of a car
  20. swing — music
  21. cabinet — ministers
  22. tear — from crying
  23. wax — for sculpting
  24. fork — in a road

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