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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's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  3. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  4. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  5. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  6. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  7. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  8. It's one o'clock ________________.
  9. We're almost out of ________________.
  10. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  11. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  12. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  13. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  14. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  15. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  16. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  17. The ball is in your ________________.
  18. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  19. You don't need to ________________ round.
  20. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  21. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  22. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  23. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  24. He's quite ________________, isn't he?

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

Answer key

  1. chest — of your body
  2. band — a music group
  3. pop — music
  4. chest — of your body
  5. court — of a king
  6. hand — part of the body
  7. board — a committee
  8. sharp — exactly
  9. pop — soda
  10. board — a flat piece
  11. chest — a box
  12. band — a ring
  13. firm — a company
  14. hand — in cards
  15. firm — steady
  16. hand — help
  17. court — for sport
  18. board — to get on
  19. pop — to visit
  20. firm — decided
  21. band — a rubber band
  22. sharp — with an edge
  23. court — of law
  24. sharp — clever

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