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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 · squash · cell · coach · racket · degree · tube · chest

  1. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  2. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  3. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  4. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  5. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  6. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  7. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  8. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  9. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  10. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  11. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  12. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  13. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  14. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  15. He was locked up in a ________________.
  16. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  17. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  18. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  19. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  20. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  21. I'll be taking the ________________.
  22. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  23. Have you met the new head ________________?
  24. The ball is in your ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — of your body
  2. coach — a trainer
  3. coach — pulled by horses
  4. squash — the sport
  5. squash — the vegetable
  6. cell — in biology
  7. racket — for tennis
  8. chest — a box
  9. degree — an amount
  10. degree — from a university
  11. court — of law
  12. tube — a container
  13. racket — for tennis
  14. degree — temperature
  15. cell — in a prison
  16. court — of a king
  17. chest — of your body
  18. squash — to crush
  19. cell — a phone
  20. tube — in a tire
  21. tube — the underground
  22. racket — a loud noise
  23. coach — a trainer
  24. court — for sport

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