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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: nail · jam · bark · chest · press · court · pitcher · root

  1. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  2. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  3. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  4. He is an ace ________________.
  5. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  6. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  7. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  8. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  9. Did you ________________ the button?
  10. The ball is in your ________________.
  11. The ________________ went through the wall.
  12. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  13. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  14. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  15. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  16. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  17. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  18. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  19. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  20. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  21. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  22. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  23. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  24. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — a jug
  2. jam — in traffic
  3. court — of law
  4. pitcher — in baseball
  5. nail — on a finger
  6. jam — a tight spot
  7. chest — a box
  8. pitcher — a jug
  9. press — to push
  10. court — for sport
  11. nail — for a hammer
  12. bark — of a tree
  13. press — a publisher
  14. bark — to shout
  15. court — of a king
  16. root — of a plant
  17. jam — to spread on bread
  18. bark — a dog's sound
  19. chest — of your body
  20. nail — for a hammer
  21. press — newspapers
  22. chest — of your body
  23. root — the cause
  24. root — of a word

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