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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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468
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: land · spell · arm · chest · hand · fork · wound · club

  1. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  2. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  3. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  4. When are we going to ________________?
  5. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  6. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  7. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  8. My father caught me by the ________________.
  9. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  10. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  11. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  12. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  13. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  14. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  15. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  16. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  17. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  18. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  19. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  20. How do you ________________ your surname?
  21. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  22. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  23. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  24. Do you need a ________________ with that?

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

Answer key

  1. fork — to eat with
  2. chest — of your body
  3. chest — a box
  4. land — to come down
  5. club — for dancing
  6. land — a country
  7. hand — part of the body
  8. arm — part of the body
  9. wound — past of 'wind'
  10. arm — a part of something
  11. club — a group
  12. arm — part of the body
  13. spell — a short time
  14. club — for golf
  15. land — ground
  16. wound — an injury
  17. fork — a garden tool
  18. hand — in cards
  19. fork — in a road
  20. spell — letters
  21. wound — an injury
  22. chest — of your body
  23. spell — magic
  24. hand — help

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