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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: chest · fork · pitcher · foot · kid · lie · shower · chair

  1. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  2. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  3. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  4. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  5. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  6. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  7. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  8. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  9. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  10. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  11. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  12. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  13. He is an ace ________________.
  14. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  15. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  16. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  17. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  18. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  19. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  20. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  21. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  22. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  23. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  24. Fill up this ________________ with water.

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

Answer key

  1. fork — to eat with
  2. chair — to sit on
  3. fork — in a road
  4. lie — an untruth
  5. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  6. chest — of your body
  7. foot — part of the body
  8. shower — to wash
  9. shower — rain
  10. chest — of your body
  11. shower — a meteor shower
  12. foot — the bottom
  13. pitcher — in baseball
  14. kid — child
  15. fork — a garden tool
  16. lie — an untruth
  17. chest — a box
  18. chair — a leader
  19. foot — a measure
  20. pitcher — a jug
  21. lie — to recline
  22. kid — to tease
  23. chair — a professorship
  24. pitcher — a jug

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