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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: court · mate · bound · wake · chest · fork · rock · racket

  1. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  2. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  3. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  4. The ball is in your ________________.
  5. That was ________________ to happen.
  6. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  7. Have you found your soul ________________?
  8. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  9. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  10. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  11. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  12. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  13. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  14. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  15. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  16. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  17. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  18. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  19. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  20. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  21. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  22. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  23. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  24. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.

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

Answer key

  1. racket — for tennis
  2. fork — a garden tool
  3. mate — a friend
  4. court — for sport
  5. bound — certain
  6. chest — of your body
  7. mate — a partner
  8. wake — to stop sleeping
  9. fork — to eat with
  10. court — of a king
  11. rock — music
  12. chest — of your body
  13. bound — tied together
  14. chest — a box
  15. wake — a trail
  16. rock — to move gently
  17. bound — obliged
  18. court — of law
  19. racket — a loud noise
  20. racket — for tennis
  21. fork — in a road
  22. rock — a stone
  23. wake — before a funeral
  24. mate — to breed

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