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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 from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: toast · rock · chest · race · court · trunk

  1. The ball is in your ________________.
  2. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  3. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  4. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  5. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  6. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  7. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  8. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  9. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  10. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  11. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  12. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  13. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  14. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  15. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  16. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  17. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  18. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.

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

Answer key

  1. court — for sport
  2. court — of a king
  3. rock — music
  4. race — humankind
  5. trunk — of an elephant
  6. chest — of your body
  7. chest — of your body
  8. trunk — of a tree
  9. race — the arms race
  10. court — of law
  11. rock — to move gently
  12. toast — a drink to someone
  13. toast — bread
  14. chest — a box
  15. trunk — of a car
  16. race — a contest
  17. rock — a stone
  18. toast — the most admired

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