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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 from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: club · net · sharp · chest · cap · fork · kick · fall

  1. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  2. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  3. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  4. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  5. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  6. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  7. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  8. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  9. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  10. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  11. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  12. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  13. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  14. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  15. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  16. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  17. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  18. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  19. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  20. It's one o'clock ________________.
  21. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  22. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  23. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  24. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.

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

Answer key

  1. cap — a lid
  2. fall — the season
  3. net — after costs
  4. chest — of your body
  5. fall — to drop
  6. fork — in a road
  7. fall — to drop
  8. fork — to eat with
  9. kick — a thrill
  10. cap — a hat
  11. cap — of ice
  12. chest — of your body
  13. club — for dancing
  14. net — in sport
  15. net — for catching
  16. kick — in football
  17. sharp — clever
  18. chest — a box
  19. fork — a garden tool
  20. sharp — exactly
  21. club — a group
  22. sharp — with an edge
  23. club — for golf
  24. kick — with a leg

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