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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: calf · ball · chest · can · bound · season · hand · scale

  1. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  2. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  3. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  4. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  5. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  6. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  7. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  8. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  9. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  10. Did you ________________ the meat?
  11. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  12. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  13. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  14. The King held a masked ________________.
  15. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  16. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  17. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  18. That was ________________ to happen.
  19. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  20. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  21. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  22. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  23. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  24. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.

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

Answer key

  1. calf — a young animal
  2. can — a tin
  3. season — in sport
  4. ball — a round shape
  5. hand — in cards
  6. chest — of your body
  7. can — to be able to
  8. scale — for weighing
  9. chest — a box
  10. season — to add flavour
  11. chest — of your body
  12. ball — a great time
  13. scale — in music
  14. ball — a dance
  15. calf — a young animal
  16. calf — of the leg
  17. bound — obliged
  18. bound — certain
  19. can — a tin
  20. scale — size or range
  21. hand — help
  22. season — of the year
  23. hand — part of the body
  24. bound — tied together

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