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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 in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  2. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  3. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  4. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  5. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  6. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  7. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  8. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  9. The ball is in your ________________.
  10. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  11. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  12. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  13. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  14. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  15. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  16. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  17. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  18. I don't want to ________________ the boat.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — of your body
  2. rule — a law
  3. net — for catching
  4. hand — help
  5. rock — music
  6. court — of law
  7. net — after costs
  8. court — of a king
  9. court — for sport
  10. hand — part of the body
  11. chest — a box
  12. chest — of your body
  13. rule — government
  14. net — in sport
  15. hand — in cards
  16. rock — a stone
  17. rule — to rule out
  18. rock — to move gently

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