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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 120 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 tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  2. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  3. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  4. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  5. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  6. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  7. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  8. He was locked up in a ________________.
  9. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  10. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  11. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  12. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  13. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  14. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  15. The ball is in your ________________.
  16. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  17. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  18. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  19. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  20. I'll be taking the ________________.
  21. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  22. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  23. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  24. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.

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

Answer key

  1. trunk — of a tree
  2. row — a quarrel
  3. court — of law
  4. row — to paddle
  5. trunk — of a car
  6. pass — a permit
  7. tube — a container
  8. cell — in a prison
  9. cell — in biology
  10. cell — a phone
  11. tube — in a tire
  12. pass — to succeed
  13. chest — of your body
  14. chair — a professorship
  15. court — for sport
  16. court — of a king
  17. trunk — of an elephant
  18. chest — of your body
  19. pass — to spend time
  20. tube — the underground
  21. chest — a box
  22. chair — a leader
  23. chair — to sit on
  24. row — a line

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