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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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 · bat · bark · chest · fall · bound · pitcher · straw

  1. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  2. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  3. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  4. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  5. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  6. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  7. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  8. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  9. The ball is in your ________________.
  10. That was ________________ to happen.
  11. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  12. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  13. He is an ace ________________.
  14. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  15. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  16. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  17. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  18. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  19. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  20. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  21. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  22. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  23. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  24. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — a box
  2. chest — of your body
  3. fall — to drop
  4. straw — a straw man
  5. court — of law
  6. bat — the animal
  7. bark — of a tree
  8. bat — for baseball
  9. court — for sport
  10. bound — certain
  11. chest — of your body
  12. fall — to drop
  13. pitcher — in baseball
  14. bark — to shout
  15. straw — to clutch at straws
  16. bound — tied together
  17. fall — the season
  18. bound — obliged
  19. straw — dry grass
  20. pitcher — a jug
  21. pitcher — a jug
  22. bat — in an idiom
  23. court — of a king
  24. bark — a dog's sound

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