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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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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: chest · racket · court · game · cell · fine · pitch · prune

  1. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  2. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  3. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  4. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  5. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  6. That was a fun ________________.
  7. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  8. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  9. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  10. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  11. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  12. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  13. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  14. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  15. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  16. He was locked up in a ________________.
  17. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  18. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  19. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  20. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  21. The ball is in your ________________.
  22. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  23. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  24. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — of your body
  2. pitch — a sales talk
  3. cell — in biology
  4. prune — the fruit
  5. court — of a king
  6. game — a match
  7. chest — a box
  8. pitch — completely
  9. cell — a phone
  10. prune — to trim
  11. racket — a loud noise
  12. game — a kind of play
  13. game — wild animals
  14. fine — high quality
  15. prune — to trim
  16. cell — in a prison
  17. fine — a penalty
  18. pitch — a sports field
  19. racket — for tennis
  20. racket — for tennis
  21. court — for sport
  22. fine — all right
  23. court — of law
  24. chest — of your body

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