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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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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: wind · calf · chest · stand · court · band · club · trunk

  1. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  2. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  3. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  4. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  5. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  6. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  7. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  8. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  9. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  10. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  11. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  12. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  13. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  14. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  15. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  16. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  17. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  18. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  19. The ball is in your ________________.
  20. I can't ________________ this cold.
  21. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  22. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  23. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  24. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — of your body
  2. court — of law
  3. calf — a young animal
  4. band — a music group
  5. trunk — of a car
  6. band — a ring
  7. stand — for spectators
  8. trunk — of an elephant
  9. club — for golf
  10. court — of a king
  11. club — for dancing
  12. stand — on your feet
  13. wind — moving air
  14. wind — to turn a key
  15. calf — a young animal
  16. club — a group
  17. wind — moving air
  18. chest — of your body
  19. court — for sport
  20. stand — to bear
  21. chest — a box
  22. calf — of the leg
  23. band — a rubber band
  24. trunk — of a tree

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