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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 · chest · spell · bear · pitcher · file · cell · court

  1. The ball is in your ________________.
  2. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  3. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  4. He was locked up in a ________________.
  5. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  6. He is an ace ________________.
  7. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  8. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  9. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  10. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  11. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  12. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  13. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  14. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  15. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  16. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  17. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  18. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  19. How do you ________________ your surname?
  20. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  21. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  22. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  23. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  24. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.

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

Answer key

  1. court — for sport
  2. bear — the animal
  3. file — a document
  4. cell — in a prison
  5. wind — to turn a key
  6. pitcher — in baseball
  7. file — a tool
  8. cell — in biology
  9. chest — a box
  10. chest — of your body
  11. bear — the animal
  12. file — a line of people
  13. chest — of your body
  14. court — of a king
  15. wind — moving air
  16. pitcher — a jug
  17. bear — to put up with
  18. spell — magic
  19. spell — letters
  20. cell — a phone
  21. court — of law
  22. spell — a short time
  23. wind — moving air
  24. pitcher — a jug

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