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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. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  3. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  4. When are we going to ________________?
  5. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  6. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  7. I'll be taking the ________________.
  8. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  9. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  10. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  11. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  12. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  13. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  14. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  15. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  16. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  17. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  18. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  19. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  20. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  21. The ball is in your ________________.
  22. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  23. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  24. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — of your body
  2. court — of a king
  3. cap — of ice
  4. land — to come down
  5. fall — to drop
  6. tube — in a tire
  7. tube — the underground
  8. calf — of the leg
  9. pit — a hole
  10. cap — a hat
  11. land — ground
  12. chest — a box
  13. land — a country
  14. fall — the season
  15. court — of law
  16. tube — a container
  17. cap — a lid
  18. fall — to drop
  19. calf — a young animal
  20. chest — of your body
  21. court — for sport
  22. pit — in a race
  23. pit — a fruit stone
  24. calf — a young animal

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