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

Word bank: calf · chest · ground · fork · sharp · rule · board · tear

  1. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  2. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  3. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  4. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  5. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  6. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  7. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  8. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  9. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  10. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  11. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  12. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  13. It's one o'clock ________________.
  14. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  15. There's no middle ________________.
  16. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  17. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  18. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  19. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  20. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  21. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  22. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  23. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  24. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.

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

Answer key

  1. board — a committee
  2. fork — a garden tool
  3. ground — the earth
  4. tear — from crying
  5. calf — of the leg
  6. calf — a young animal
  7. sharp — with an edge
  8. board — to get on
  9. fork — in a road
  10. chest — of your body
  11. sharp — clever
  12. rule — to rule out
  13. sharp — exactly
  14. tear — to rip
  15. ground — a position
  16. chest — of your body
  17. rule — government
  18. board — a flat piece
  19. fork — to eat with
  20. ground — crushed
  21. chest — a box
  22. calf — a young animal
  23. rule — a law
  24. tear — from crying

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