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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. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  3. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  4. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  5. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  6. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  7. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  8. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  9. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  10. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  11. That was a fun ________________.
  12. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  13. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  14. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  15. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  16. The ball is in your ________________.
  17. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  18. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  19. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  20. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  21. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  22. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  23. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  24. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — of your body
  2. court — of a king
  3. root — of a word
  4. root — of a plant
  5. trunk — of a tree
  6. chest — a box
  7. trunk — of an elephant
  8. root — the cause
  9. straw — to clutch at straws
  10. chest — of your body
  11. game — a match
  12. straw — dry grass
  13. bark — to shout
  14. court — of law
  15. firm — decided
  16. court — for sport
  17. firm — steady
  18. bark — of a tree
  19. bark — a dog's sound
  20. straw — a straw man
  21. trunk — of a car
  22. firm — a company
  23. game — a kind of play
  24. game — wild animals

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