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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 120 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: fork · foot · kid · ball · hand · chest · tear · calf

  1. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  2. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  3. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  4. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  5. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  6. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  7. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  8. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  9. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  10. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  11. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  12. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  13. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  14. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  15. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  16. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  17. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  18. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  19. The King held a masked ________________.
  20. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  21. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  22. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  23. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  24. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — a box
  2. fork — a garden tool
  3. chest — of your body
  4. calf — of the leg
  5. fork — in a road
  6. ball — a round shape
  7. foot — part of the body
  8. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  9. hand — part of the body
  10. ball — a great time
  11. tear — from crying
  12. calf — a young animal
  13. chest — of your body
  14. calf — a young animal
  15. fork — to eat with
  16. tear — to rip
  17. foot — the bottom
  18. hand — help
  19. ball — a dance
  20. hand — in cards
  21. kid — child
  22. foot — a measure
  23. tear — from crying
  24. kid — to tease

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