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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 lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  2. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  3. We're almost out of ________________.
  4. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  5. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  6. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  7. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  8. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  9. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  10. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  11. How do you ________________ your surname?
  12. He was locked up in a ________________.
  13. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  14. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  15. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  16. I'll be taking the ________________.
  17. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  18. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  19. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  20. The ball is in your ________________.
  21. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  22. You don't need to ________________ round.
  23. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  24. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — a box
  2. prune — to trim
  3. pop — soda
  4. patient — a sick person
  5. chest — of your body
  6. patient — a sick person
  7. pop — music
  8. cell — a phone
  9. court — of a king
  10. spell — a short time
  11. spell — letters
  12. cell — in a prison
  13. tube — a container
  14. court — of law
  15. tube — in a tire
  16. tube — the underground
  17. prune — the fruit
  18. spell — magic
  19. prune — to trim
  20. court — for sport
  21. cell — in biology
  22. pop — to visit
  23. patient — calm and waiting
  24. chest — of your body

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