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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. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  2. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  3. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  4. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  5. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  6. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  7. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  8. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  9. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  10. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  11. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  12. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  13. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  14. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  15. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  16. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  17. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  18. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  19. Have you met the new head ________________?
  20. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  21. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  22. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  23. The ball is in your ________________.
  24. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — of your body
  2. chest — of your body
  3. march — music
  4. march — the month
  5. mouse — for a computer
  6. mouse — the animal
  7. march — the month
  8. straw — dry grass
  9. coach — pulled by horses
  10. stick — a piece of wood
  11. mouse — the animal
  12. straw — to clutch at straws
  13. coach — a trainer
  14. band — a ring
  15. stick — a piece of wood
  16. band — a music group
  17. chest — a box
  18. court — of a king
  19. coach — a trainer
  20. band — a rubber band
  21. court — of law
  22. stick — to attach or keep to
  23. court — for sport
  24. straw — a straw man

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