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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 ball is in your ________________.
  2. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  3. The tickets are free of ________________.
  4. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  5. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  6. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  7. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  8. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  9. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  10. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  11. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  12. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  13. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  14. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  15. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  16. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  17. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  18. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  19. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  20. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  21. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  22. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  23. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  24. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.

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

Answer key

  1. court — for sport
  2. spring — a coil
  3. charge — a price
  4. charge — in control
  5. chest — of your body
  6. court — of law
  7. spring — of water
  8. charge — electricity
  9. trunk — of a tree
  10. chest — of your body
  11. fall — the season
  12. stick — to attach or keep to
  13. fall — to drop
  14. spring — the season
  15. trunk — of a car
  16. stick — a piece of wood
  17. lean — thin
  18. stick — a piece of wood
  19. lean — to rest against
  20. trunk — of an elephant
  21. chest — a box
  22. lean — to bend
  23. court — of a king
  24. fall — to drop

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