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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. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  3. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  4. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  5. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  6. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  7. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  8. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  9. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  10. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  11. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  12. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  13. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  14. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  15. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  16. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  17. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  18. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  19. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  20. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  21. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  22. The ball is in your ________________.
  23. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  24. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — of your body
  2. racket — for tennis
  3. trunk — of a car
  4. jam — a tight spot
  5. spring — the season
  6. chest — a box
  7. court — of law
  8. bank — for money
  9. spring — a coil
  10. jam — to spread on bread
  11. court — of a king
  12. trunk — of a tree
  13. trunk — of an elephant
  14. bear — to put up with
  15. spring — of water
  16. racket — for tennis
  17. jam — in traffic
  18. bank — for money
  19. bank — of a river
  20. chest — of your body
  21. racket — a loud noise
  22. court — for sport
  23. bear — the animal
  24. bear — the animal

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