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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: chair · stick · march · swing · pitcher · calf · hand · fork

  1. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  2. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  3. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  4. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  5. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  6. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  7. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  8. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  9. David sat on the ________________.
  10. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  11. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  12. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  13. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  14. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  15. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  16. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  17. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  18. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  19. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  20. He is an ace ________________.
  21. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  22. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  23. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  24. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. stick — to attach or keep to
  2. calf — a young animal
  3. chair — a professorship
  4. pitcher — a jug
  5. march — the month
  6. calf — of the leg
  7. stick — a piece of wood
  8. march — the month
  9. swing — to play on
  10. fork — to eat with
  11. chair — a leader
  12. hand — part of the body
  13. hand — in cards
  14. chair — to sit on
  15. hand — help
  16. fork — in a road
  17. march — music
  18. pitcher — a jug
  19. swing — music
  20. pitcher — in baseball
  21. swing — in golf
  22. fork — a garden tool
  23. stick — a piece of wood
  24. calf — a young animal

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