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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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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: fan · pound · chest · wake · mug · court · kid · swing

  1. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  2. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  3. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  4. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  5. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  6. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  7. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  8. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  9. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  10. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  11. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  12. Where did you ________________ them?
  13. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  14. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  15. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  16. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  17. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  18. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  19. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  20. The ball is in your ________________.
  21. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  22. David sat on the ________________.
  23. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  24. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — of your body
  2. wake — to stop sleeping
  3. court — of law
  4. chest — a box
  5. pound — a weight
  6. kid — to tease
  7. wake — a trail
  8. fan — to cool the air
  9. mug — a cup
  10. wake — before a funeral
  11. swing — music
  12. mug — to rob
  13. fan — a supporter
  14. chest — of your body
  15. pound — to hit hard
  16. mug — a face
  17. pound — for dogs
  18. kid — child
  19. swing — in golf
  20. court — for sport
  21. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  22. swing — to play on
  23. court — of a king
  24. fan — a supporter

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