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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: rest · court · chip · lean · chest · tear

  1. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  2. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  3. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  4. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  5. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  6. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  7. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  8. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  9. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  10. The ball is in your ________________.
  11. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  12. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  13. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  14. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  15. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  16. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  17. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  18. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.

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

Answer key

  1. chip — in a computer
  2. chest — of your body
  3. chest — of your body
  4. tear — to rip
  5. rest — a break
  6. tear — from crying
  7. court — of a king
  8. lean — thin
  9. rest — what's left
  10. court — for sport
  11. rest — what's left
  12. tear — from crying
  13. chip — to eat
  14. chest — a box
  15. court — of law
  16. lean — to rest against
  17. chip — for betting
  18. lean — to bend

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