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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: calf · chest · temple · land · pound · craft · kid · game

  1. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  2. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  3. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  4. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  5. When are we going to ________________?
  6. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  7. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  8. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  9. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  10. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  11. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  12. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  13. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  14. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  15. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  16. When was this ________________ built?
  17. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  18. That was a fun ________________.
  19. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  20. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  21. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  22. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  23. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  24. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.

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

Answer key

  1. calf — a young animal
  2. craft — boats
  3. land — ground
  4. craft — a handicraft
  5. land — to come down
  6. temple — a place of worship
  7. calf — a young animal
  8. game — wild animals
  9. temple — side of the head
  10. craft — a skill
  11. chest — of your body
  12. pound — for dogs
  13. kid — child
  14. pound — to hit hard
  15. kid — to tease
  16. temple — a place of worship
  17. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  18. game — a match
  19. chest — of your body
  20. land — a country
  21. pound — a weight
  22. game — a kind of play
  23. calf — of the leg
  24. chest — a box

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