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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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Word bank
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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: calf · chest · press · fork · swing · date · hand · content

  1. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  2. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  3. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  4. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  5. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  6. Did you ________________ the button?
  7. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  8. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  9. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  10. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  11. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  12. David sat on the ________________.
  13. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  14. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  15. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  16. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  17. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  18. Have you settled on a ________________?
  19. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  20. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  21. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  22. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  23. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  24. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fork — a garden tool
  2. content — the amount
  3. press — a publisher
  4. content — happy
  5. swing — in golf
  6. press — to push
  7. hand — part of the body
  8. date — on the calendar
  9. calf — a young animal
  10. press — newspapers
  11. date — the fruit
  12. swing — to play on
  13. calf — a young animal
  14. chest — a box
  15. swing — music
  16. fork — in a road
  17. hand — help
  18. date — on the calendar
  19. hand — in cards
  20. fork — to eat with
  21. content — videos and posts
  22. chest — of your body
  23. calf — of the leg
  24. chest — of your body

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