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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: court · tear · chest · wave · content · craft

  1. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  2. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  3. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  4. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  5. The ball is in your ________________.
  6. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  7. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  8. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  9. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  10. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  11. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  12. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  13. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  14. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  15. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  16. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  17. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  18. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — of your body
  2. content — the amount
  3. wave — a sudden rise
  4. tear — to rip
  5. court — for sport
  6. content — happy
  7. wave — of the sea
  8. chest — a box
  9. chest — of your body
  10. court — of a king
  11. wave — with your hand
  12. tear — from crying
  13. craft — a skill
  14. craft — boats
  15. court — of law
  16. craft — a handicraft
  17. tear — from crying
  18. content — videos and posts

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