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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 · foot · chest · kid · arm · calf · file · squash

  1. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  2. My father caught me by the ________________.
  3. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  4. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  5. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  6. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  7. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  8. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  9. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  10. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  11. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  12. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  13. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  14. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  15. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  16. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  17. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  18. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  19. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  20. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  21. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  22. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  23. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  24. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — to crush
  2. arm — part of the body
  3. foot — a measure
  4. arm — part of the body
  5. chest — of your body
  6. fork — to eat with
  7. squash — the vegetable
  8. arm — a part of something
  9. file — a tool
  10. fork — a garden tool
  11. calf — a young animal
  12. calf — of the leg
  13. chest — a box
  14. file — a document
  15. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  16. squash — the sport
  17. fork — in a road
  18. chest — of your body
  19. kid — child
  20. file — a line of people
  21. foot — part of the body
  22. kid — to tease
  23. calf — a young animal
  24. foot — the bottom

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