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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: chest · date · fan · kid · fork · last · hand · craft

  1. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  2. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  3. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  4. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  5. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  6. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  7. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  8. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  9. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  10. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  11. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  12. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  13. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  14. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  15. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  16. False peace will not ________________.
  17. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  18. Have you settled on a ________________?
  19. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  20. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  21. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  22. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  23. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  24. I got dealt a bad ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. date — the fruit
  2. last — finally
  3. hand — help
  4. fork — a garden tool
  5. craft — a skill
  6. fork — in a road
  7. chest — a box
  8. kid — child
  9. fan — to cool the air
  10. last — final
  11. hand — part of the body
  12. date — on the calendar
  13. fork — to eat with
  14. craft — boats
  15. fan — a supporter
  16. last — to go on
  17. fan — a supporter
  18. date — on the calendar
  19. craft — a handicraft
  20. kid — to tease
  21. chest — of your body
  22. chest — of your body
  23. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  24. hand — in cards

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