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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: season · row · court · jam · bear · hand · chest · rock

  1. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  2. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  3. Did you ________________ the meat?
  4. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  5. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  6. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  7. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  8. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  9. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  10. The ball is in your ________________.
  11. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  12. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  13. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  14. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  15. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  16. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  17. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  18. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  19. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  20. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  21. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  22. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  23. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  24. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.

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

Answer key

  1. rock — music
  2. jam — in traffic
  3. season — to add flavour
  4. bear — to put up with
  5. row — a quarrel
  6. row — a line
  7. bear — the animal
  8. bear — the animal
  9. hand — part of the body
  10. court — for sport
  11. hand — help
  12. row — to paddle
  13. season — of the year
  14. rock — to move gently
  15. court — of a king
  16. court — of law
  17. jam — to spread on bread
  18. chest — of your body
  19. chest — of your body
  20. season — in sport
  21. hand — in cards
  22. rock — a stone
  23. jam — a tight spot
  24. chest — a box

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