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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: fork · bay · kick · bowl · fan · pound · present · chest

  1. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  2. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  3. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  4. My mare is ________________ in color.
  5. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  6. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  7. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  8. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  9. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  10. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  11. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  12. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  13. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  14. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  15. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  16. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  17. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  18. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  19. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  20. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  21. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  22. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  23. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  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. present — a gift
  2. fan — to cool the air
  3. kick — with a leg
  4. bay — a horse colour
  5. fork — to eat with
  6. kick — in football
  7. present — the time now
  8. chest — of your body
  9. chest — of your body
  10. pound — to hit hard
  11. bowl — a dish
  12. bowl — to roll
  13. pound — for dogs
  14. fan — a supporter
  15. bay — to keep at bay
  16. fan — a supporter
  17. fork — a garden tool
  18. bowl — a football final
  19. pound — a weight
  20. kick — a thrill
  21. bay — a part of the sea
  22. chest — a box
  23. fork — in a road
  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