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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: wind · court · face · chest · calf · squash · tube · suit

  1. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  2. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  3. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  4. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  5. I'll be taking the ________________.
  6. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  7. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  8. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  9. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  10. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  11. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  12. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  13. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  14. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  15. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  16. When will it ________________ you to start?
  17. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  18. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  19. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  20. The ball is in your ________________.
  21. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  22. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  23. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  24. She had a strange look on her ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. court — of a king
  2. suit — clothes
  3. calf — a young animal
  4. face — to confront
  5. tube — the underground
  6. tube — a container
  7. calf — of the leg
  8. court — of law
  9. face — to point toward
  10. wind — to turn a key
  11. squash — the sport
  12. chest — of your body
  13. calf — a young animal
  14. squash — the vegetable
  15. tube — in a tire
  16. suit — to fit
  17. chest — a box
  18. wind — moving air
  19. squash — to crush
  20. court — for sport
  21. suit — in cards
  22. wind — moving air
  23. chest — of your body
  24. face — part of the head

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