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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: cabinet · kid · hand · prune · jam · march · foot · chest

  1. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  2. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  3. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  4. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  5. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  6. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  7. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  8. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  9. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  10. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  11. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  12. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  13. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  14. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  15. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  16. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  17. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  18. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  19. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  20. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  21. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  22. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  23. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  24. What do you think of the new ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. jam — to spread on bread
  2. chest — a box
  3. chest — of your body
  4. hand — in cards
  5. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  6. cabinet — ministers
  7. hand — part of the body
  8. foot — a measure
  9. cabinet — a cupboard
  10. hand — help
  11. march — the month
  12. kid — child
  13. prune — the fruit
  14. chest — of your body
  15. jam — a tight spot
  16. march — the month
  17. march — music
  18. kid — to tease
  19. foot — the bottom
  20. jam — in traffic
  21. prune — to trim
  22. prune — to trim
  23. foot — part of the body
  24. cabinet — ministers

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