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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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 · bass · face · saw · court · content · racket · wake

  1. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  2. The ball is in your ________________.
  3. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  4. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  5. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  6. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  7. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  8. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  9. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  10. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  11. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  12. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  13. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  14. He works in a ________________ mill.
  15. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  16. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  17. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  18. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  19. She's very handy with a ________________.
  20. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  21. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  22. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  23. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  24. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.

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

Answer key

  1. racket — for tennis
  2. court — for sport
  3. court — of a king
  4. chest — of your body
  5. court — of law
  6. content — happy
  7. face — to point toward
  8. chest — a box
  9. bass — the fish
  10. racket — for tennis
  11. face — part of the head
  12. wake — before a funeral
  13. bass — the instrument
  14. saw — the tool
  15. racket — a loud noise
  16. saw — past of 'see'
  17. bass — low music
  18. face — to confront
  19. saw — the tool
  20. content — videos and posts
  21. content — the amount
  22. wake — to stop sleeping
  23. wake — a trail
  24. chest — of your body

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