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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. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  2. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  3. The ball is in your ________________.
  4. I'll be taking the ________________.
  5. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  6. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  7. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  8. My mare is ________________ in color.
  9. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  10. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  11. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  12. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  13. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  14. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  15. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  16. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  17. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  18. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  19. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  20. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  21. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  22. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  23. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  24. Did you ________________ the button?

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

Answer key

  1. chest — of your body
  2. jam — in traffic
  3. court — for sport
  4. tube — the underground
  5. chest — a box
  6. scale — size or range
  7. court — of a king
  8. bay — a horse colour
  9. drill — the tool
  10. tube — in a tire
  11. jam — to spread on bread
  12. drill — army training
  13. drill — a practice
  14. scale — for weighing
  15. bay — to keep at bay
  16. jam — a tight spot
  17. chest — of your body
  18. press — newspapers
  19. press — a publisher
  20. bay — a part of the sea
  21. scale — in music
  22. court — of law
  23. tube — a container
  24. press — to push

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