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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 120 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: chest · court · rock · pitcher · foot · tear · sharp · rush

  1. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  2. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  3. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  4. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  5. It's one o'clock ________________.
  6. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  7. That must've been a ________________.
  8. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  9. He is an ace ________________.
  10. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  11. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  12. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  13. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  14. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  15. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  16. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  17. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  18. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  19. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  20. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  21. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  22. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  23. The ball is in your ________________.
  24. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.

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

Answer key

  1. rock — to move gently
  2. chest — of your body
  3. sharp — clever
  4. chest — a box
  5. sharp — exactly
  6. pitcher — a jug
  7. rush — a thrill
  8. tear — from crying
  9. pitcher — in baseball
  10. rock — a stone
  11. sharp — with an edge
  12. foot — a measure
  13. pitcher — a jug
  14. tear — to rip
  15. rush — to hurry
  16. court — of law
  17. rock — music
  18. chest — of your body
  19. court — of a king
  20. tear — from crying
  21. rush — hurry
  22. foot — part of the body
  23. court — for sport
  24. foot — the bottom

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