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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. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  2. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  3. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  4. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  5. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  6. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  7. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  8. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  9. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  10. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  11. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  12. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  13. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  14. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  15. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  16. That was a fun ________________.
  17. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  18. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  19. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  20. Did you ________________ the meat?
  21. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  22. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  23. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  24. The ball is in your ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — a box
  2. staff — employees
  3. can — a tin
  4. wound — an injury
  5. chest — of your body
  6. wound — past of 'wind'
  7. court — of a king
  8. chest — of your body
  9. can — a tin
  10. court — of law
  11. stem — a stem cell
  12. season — in sport
  13. stem — of a plant
  14. stem — to come from
  15. game — wild animals
  16. game — a match
  17. staff — employees
  18. game — a kind of play
  19. can — to be able to
  20. season — to add flavour
  21. staff — a stick
  22. season — of the year
  23. wound — an injury
  24. court — for sport

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