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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. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  2. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  3. The ball is in your ________________.
  4. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  5. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  6. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  7. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  8. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  9. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  10. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  11. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  12. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  13. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  14. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  15. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  16. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  17. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  18. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  19. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  20. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  21. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  22. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  23. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  24. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — of your body
  2. present — the time now
  3. court — for sport
  4. present — a gift
  5. trunk — of a tree
  6. chest — a box
  7. court — of law
  8. ruler — a monarch
  9. trunk — of an elephant
  10. trunk — of a car
  11. lash — to lash out
  12. court — of a king
  13. field — a subject
  14. lash — an eyelash
  15. ruler — for measuring
  16. field — for sport
  17. chest — of your body
  18. ruler — for measuring
  19. field — farmland
  20. dip — to sink
  21. dip — to dunk
  22. present — there
  23. lash — a whip stroke
  24. dip — a sauce

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