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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: game · fan · lean · chest · chair · net · jam · spell

  1. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  2. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  3. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  4. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  5. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  6. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  7. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  8. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  9. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  10. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  11. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  12. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  13. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  14. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  15. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  16. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  17. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  18. How do you ________________ your surname?
  19. That was a fun ________________.
  20. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  21. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  22. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  23. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  24. The ball hit the back of the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. jam — a tight spot
  2. chest — of your body
  3. chest — of your body
  4. lean — to bend
  5. chair — to sit on
  6. game — a kind of play
  7. lean — thin
  8. lean — to rest against
  9. fan — a supporter
  10. net — after costs
  11. net — for catching
  12. chest — a box
  13. fan — a supporter
  14. jam — to spread on bread
  15. chair — a leader
  16. spell — magic
  17. chair — a professorship
  18. spell — letters
  19. game — a match
  20. jam — in traffic
  21. fan — to cool the air
  22. game — wild animals
  23. spell — a short time
  24. net — in sport

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