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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: court · chest · squash · bound · plane · pound · tube · present

  1. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  2. That was ________________ to happen.
  3. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  4. I'll be taking the ________________.
  5. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  6. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  7. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  8. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  9. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  10. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  11. The ________________ took off on time.
  12. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  13. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  14. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  15. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  16. The ball is in your ________________.
  17. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  18. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  19. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  20. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  21. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  22. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  23. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  24. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.

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

Answer key

  1. court — of a king
  2. bound — certain
  3. tube — a container
  4. tube — the underground
  5. pound — to hit hard
  6. squash — the vegetable
  7. pound — a weight
  8. chest — of your body
  9. present — the time now
  10. chest — of your body
  11. plane — an aircraft
  12. bound — tied together
  13. present — a gift
  14. chest — a box
  15. squash — to crush
  16. court — for sport
  17. bound — obliged
  18. present — there
  19. plane — a tool
  20. squash — the sport
  21. pound — for dogs
  22. court — of law
  23. plane — in geometry
  24. tube — in a tire

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