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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 · swing · calf · land · shower · mine · ball · board

  1. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  2. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  3. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  4. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  5. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  6. When are we going to ________________?
  7. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  8. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  9. David sat on the ________________.
  10. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  11. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  12. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  13. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  14. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  15. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  16. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  17. The King held a masked ________________.
  18. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  19. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  20. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  21. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  22. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  23. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  24. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — of your body
  2. shower — a meteor shower
  3. ball — a great time
  4. swing — music
  5. board — a flat piece
  6. land — to come down
  7. swing — in golf
  8. mine — an explosive
  9. swing — to play on
  10. board — a committee
  11. shower — to wash
  12. chest — of your body
  13. mine — belonging to me
  14. land — ground
  15. calf — of the leg
  16. land — a country
  17. ball — a dance
  18. chest — a box
  19. mine — for digging
  20. ball — a round shape
  21. calf — a young animal
  22. shower — rain
  23. calf — a young animal
  24. board — to get on

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