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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: ground · chest · spring · land · stand · arm · fork · calf

  1. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  2. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  3. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  4. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  5. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  6. When are we going to ________________?
  7. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  8. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  9. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  10. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  11. My father caught me by the ________________.
  12. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  13. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  14. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  15. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  16. There's no middle ________________.
  17. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  18. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  19. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  20. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  21. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  22. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  23. I can't ________________ this cold.
  24. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — the season
  2. land — a country
  3. arm — a part of something
  4. stand — for spectators
  5. fork — a garden tool
  6. land — to come down
  7. calf — a young animal
  8. chest — a box
  9. spring — a coil
  10. calf — of the leg
  11. arm — part of the body
  12. calf — a young animal
  13. stand — on your feet
  14. land — ground
  15. spring — of water
  16. ground — a position
  17. arm — part of the body
  18. ground — crushed
  19. chest — of your body
  20. ground — the earth
  21. fork — in a road
  22. fork — to eat with
  23. stand — to bear
  24. chest — of your body

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