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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: firm · fork · game · chest · tube · court · wake · kid

  1. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  2. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  3. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  4. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  5. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  6. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  7. I'll be taking the ________________.
  8. The ball is in your ________________.
  9. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  10. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  11. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  12. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  13. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  14. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  15. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  16. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  17. That was a fun ________________.
  18. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  19. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  20. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  21. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  22. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  23. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  24. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — to tease
  2. firm — steady
  3. fork — a garden tool
  4. kid — child
  5. court — of law
  6. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  7. tube — the underground
  8. court — for sport
  9. firm — decided
  10. tube — a container
  11. firm — a company
  12. fork — to eat with
  13. court — of a king
  14. chest — of your body
  15. wake — a trail
  16. wake — before a funeral
  17. game — a match
  18. chest — a box
  19. game — wild animals
  20. tube — in a tire
  21. fork — in a road
  22. wake — to stop sleeping
  23. chest — of your body
  24. game — a kind of play

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