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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. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  2. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  3. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  4. The ball is in your ________________.
  5. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  6. I'll be taking the ________________.
  7. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  8. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  9. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  10. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  11. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  12. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  13. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  14. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  15. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  16. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  17. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  18. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  19. When are we going to ________________?
  20. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  21. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  22. David sat on the ________________.
  23. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  24. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — a box
  2. rest — what's left
  3. rest — what's left
  4. court — for sport
  5. chest — of your body
  6. tube — the underground
  7. chest — of your body
  8. land — a country
  9. land — ground
  10. tube — a container
  11. tube — in a tire
  12. root — the cause
  13. perch — the fish
  14. perch — for a bird
  15. swing — music
  16. root — of a plant
  17. rest — a break
  18. root — of a word
  19. land — to come down
  20. court — of a king
  21. court — of law
  22. swing — to play on
  23. perch — for a bird
  24. swing — in golf

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