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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. The ball is in your ________________.
  2. What do you think of the new ________________?
  3. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  4. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  5. We're on a ________________ here.
  6. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  7. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  8. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  9. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  10. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  11. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  12. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  13. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  14. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  15. I'll be taking the ________________.
  16. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  17. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  18. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  19. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  20. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  21. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  22. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  23. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  24. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.

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

Answer key

  1. court — for sport
  2. cabinet — ministers
  3. cabinet — a cupboard
  4. prune — the fruit
  5. roll — on a roll
  6. roll — a cake
  7. patient — a sick person
  8. roll — a list
  9. chest — of your body
  10. court — of a king
  11. prune — to trim
  12. chest — of your body
  13. squash — the sport
  14. patient — calm and waiting
  15. tube — the underground
  16. tube — a container
  17. cabinet — ministers
  18. prune — to trim
  19. squash — the vegetable
  20. tube — in a tire
  21. chest — a box
  22. squash — to crush
  23. patient — a sick person
  24. court — of law

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