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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 had a ________________ with my boss today.
  2. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  3. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  4. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  5. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  6. The ball is in your ________________.
  7. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  8. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  9. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  10. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  11. My father caught me by the ________________.
  12. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  13. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  14. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  15. He is an ace ________________.
  16. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  17. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  18. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  19. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  20. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  21. That was ________________ to happen.
  22. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  23. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  24. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.

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

Answer key

  1. row — a quarrel
  2. chest — of your body
  3. rock — music
  4. fall — to drop
  5. rock — a stone
  6. court — for sport
  7. bound — tied together
  8. arm — part of the body
  9. chest — a box
  10. court — of law
  11. arm — part of the body
  12. bound — obliged
  13. row — a line
  14. fall — to drop
  15. pitcher — in baseball
  16. row — to paddle
  17. chest — of your body
  18. pitcher — a jug
  19. rock — to move gently
  20. arm — a part of something
  21. bound — certain
  22. pitcher — a jug
  23. fall — the season
  24. court — of a king

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