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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: patient · prune · mouse · chest · court · chair · swing · foot

  1. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  2. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  3. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  4. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  5. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  6. The ball is in your ________________.
  7. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  8. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  9. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  10. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  11. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  12. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  13. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  14. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  15. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  16. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  17. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  18. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  19. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  20. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  21. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  22. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  23. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  24. David sat on the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mouse — the animal
  2. mouse — for a computer
  3. chest — of your body
  4. prune — the fruit
  5. chest — a box
  6. court — for sport
  7. court — of a king
  8. foot — a measure
  9. swing — in golf
  10. prune — to trim
  11. patient — a sick person
  12. mouse — the animal
  13. foot — part of the body
  14. chair — a leader
  15. chest — of your body
  16. chair — a professorship
  17. patient — calm and waiting
  18. foot — the bottom
  19. court — of law
  20. swing — music
  21. patient — a sick person
  22. chair — to sit on
  23. prune — to trim
  24. swing — to play on

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