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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 120 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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Word bank
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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: board · lean · chest · wound · court · squash

  1. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  2. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  3. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  4. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  5. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  6. The ball is in your ________________.
  7. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  8. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  9. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  10. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  11. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  12. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  13. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  14. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  15. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  16. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  17. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  18. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — to crush
  2. board — to get on
  3. chest — a box
  4. squash — the vegetable
  5. wound — past of 'wind'
  6. court — for sport
  7. board — a flat piece
  8. squash — the sport
  9. wound — an injury
  10. board — a committee
  11. chest — of your body
  12. chest — of your body
  13. wound — an injury
  14. lean — to bend
  15. lean — thin
  16. lean — to rest against
  17. court — of a king
  18. court — of law

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