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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: wound · squash · pound · fan · calf · chest · present · suit

  1. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  2. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  3. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  4. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  5. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  6. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  7. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  8. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  9. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  10. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  11. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  12. When will it ________________ you to start?
  13. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  14. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  15. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  16. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  17. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  18. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  19. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  20. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  21. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  22. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  23. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  24. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.

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

Answer key

  1. fan — to cool the air
  2. squash — the vegetable
  3. wound — an injury
  4. fan — a supporter
  5. suit — clothes
  6. squash — the sport
  7. pound — for dogs
  8. calf — a young animal
  9. fan — a supporter
  10. chest — of your body
  11. chest — a box
  12. suit — to fit
  13. calf — of the leg
  14. present — a gift
  15. squash — to crush
  16. pound — a weight
  17. chest — of your body
  18. suit — in cards
  19. pound — to hit hard
  20. wound — an injury
  21. calf — a young animal
  22. present — there
  23. wound — past of 'wind'
  24. present — the time now

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