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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. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  2. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  3. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  4. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  5. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  6. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  7. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  8. Where did you ________________ them?
  9. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  10. We're on a ________________ here.
  11. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  12. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  13. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  14. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  15. The ball is in your ________________.
  16. It's one o'clock ________________.
  17. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  18. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  19. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  20. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  21. David sat on the ________________.
  22. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  23. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  24. This knife is not ________________ enough.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — of your body
  2. roll — a cake
  3. court — of law
  4. court — of a king
  5. patient — a sick person
  6. chest — of your body
  7. roll — a list
  8. mug — to rob
  9. mug — a face
  10. roll — on a roll
  11. patient — calm and waiting
  12. lean — thin
  13. mug — a cup
  14. patient — a sick person
  15. court — for sport
  16. sharp — exactly
  17. lean — to rest against
  18. sharp — clever
  19. chest — a box
  20. swing — in golf
  21. swing — to play on
  22. swing — music
  23. lean — to bend
  24. sharp — with an edge

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