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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: ground · chest · saw · tube · date · squash · nail · court

  1. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  2. He works in a ________________ mill.
  3. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  4. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  5. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  6. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  7. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  8. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  9. The ________________ went through the wall.
  10. I'll be taking the ________________.
  11. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  12. There's no middle ________________.
  13. She's very handy with a ________________.
  14. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  15. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  16. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  17. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  18. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  19. The ball is in your ________________.
  20. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  21. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  22. Have you settled on a ________________?
  23. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  24. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.

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

Answer key

  1. nail — on a finger
  2. saw — the tool
  3. court — of a king
  4. court — of law
  5. squash — to crush
  6. chest — of your body
  7. ground — crushed
  8. ground — the earth
  9. nail — for a hammer
  10. tube — the underground
  11. tube — a container
  12. ground — a position
  13. saw — the tool
  14. date — on the calendar
  15. squash — the vegetable
  16. tube — in a tire
  17. saw — past of 'see'
  18. nail — for a hammer
  19. court — for sport
  20. chest — of your body
  21. squash — the sport
  22. date — on the calendar
  23. chest — a box
  24. date — the fruit

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