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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: stick · march · prune · court · pound · race · roll · chest

  1. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  2. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  3. The ball is in your ________________.
  4. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  5. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  6. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  7. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  8. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  9. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  10. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  11. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  12. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  13. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  14. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  15. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  16. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  17. We're on a ________________ here.
  18. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  19. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  20. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  21. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  22. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  23. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  24. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — of your body
  2. stick — a piece of wood
  3. court — for sport
  4. pound — a weight
  5. race — the arms race
  6. march — the month
  7. pound — for dogs
  8. prune — the fruit
  9. stick — to attach or keep to
  10. stick — a piece of wood
  11. pound — to hit hard
  12. roll — a list
  13. court — of a king
  14. chest — of your body
  15. race — humankind
  16. chest — a box
  17. roll — on a roll
  18. court — of law
  19. march — music
  20. prune — to trim
  21. roll — a cake
  22. march — the month
  23. race — a contest
  24. prune — to trim

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