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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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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: file · chest · fork · court · fall · scale · racket · kid

  1. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  2. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  3. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  4. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  5. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  6. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  7. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  8. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  9. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  10. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  11. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  12. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  13. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  14. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  15. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  16. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  17. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  18. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  19. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  20. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  21. The ball is in your ________________.
  22. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  23. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  24. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — a box
  2. scale — in music
  3. fall — the season
  4. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  5. kid — to tease
  6. court — of a king
  7. chest — of your body
  8. scale — for weighing
  9. file — a tool
  10. court — of law
  11. racket — for tennis
  12. fork — to eat with
  13. fall — to drop
  14. file — a document
  15. file — a line of people
  16. racket — a loud noise
  17. chest — of your body
  18. fork — in a road
  19. kid — child
  20. racket — for tennis
  21. court — for sport
  22. fork — a garden tool
  23. fall — to drop
  24. scale — size or range

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