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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: cell · stick · swing · kid · foot · saw · craft · chest

  1. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  2. David sat on the ________________.
  3. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  4. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  5. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  6. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  7. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  8. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  9. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  10. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  11. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  12. He was locked up in a ________________.
  13. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  14. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  15. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  16. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  17. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  18. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  19. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  20. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  21. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  22. She's very handy with a ________________.
  23. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  24. He works in a ________________ mill.

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

Answer key

  1. swing — in golf
  2. swing — to play on
  3. craft — boats
  4. stick — a piece of wood
  5. chest — of your body
  6. foot — a measure
  7. kid — child
  8. craft — a handicraft
  9. cell — a phone
  10. craft — a skill
  11. stick — to attach or keep to
  12. cell — in a prison
  13. stick — a piece of wood
  14. chest — of your body
  15. foot — part of the body
  16. kid — to tease
  17. cell — in biology
  18. swing — music
  19. foot — the bottom
  20. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  21. chest — a box
  22. saw — the tool
  23. saw — past of 'see'
  24. saw — the tool

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