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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. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  2. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  3. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  4. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  5. David sat on the ________________.
  6. The ball is in your ________________.
  7. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  8. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  9. What do you think of the new ________________?
  10. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  11. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  12. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  13. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  14. That was ________________ to happen.
  15. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  16. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  17. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  18. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  19. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  20. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  21. When was this ________________ built?
  22. That must've been a ________________.
  23. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  24. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. temple — a place of worship
  2. rush — to hurry
  3. court — of a king
  4. bound — tied together
  5. swing — to play on
  6. court — for sport
  7. court — of law
  8. chest — of your body
  9. cabinet — ministers
  10. racket — for tennis
  11. bound — obliged
  12. swing — in golf
  13. rush — hurry
  14. bound — certain
  15. racket — for tennis
  16. chest — of your body
  17. chest — a box
  18. temple — side of the head
  19. swing — music
  20. cabinet — a cupboard
  21. temple — a place of worship
  22. rush — a thrill
  23. cabinet — ministers
  24. racket — a loud noise

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