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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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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: cell · racket · chest · court · bulb · chair · foot · file

  1. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  2. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  3. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  4. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  5. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  6. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  7. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  8. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  9. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  10. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  11. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  12. He was locked up in a ________________.
  13. The ball is in your ________________.
  14. I've got to change the light ________________.
  15. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  16. The light ________________ burned out.
  17. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  18. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  19. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  20. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  21. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  22. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  23. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  24. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — of your body
  2. bulb — of a plant
  3. chest — of your body
  4. chest — a box
  5. foot — part of the body
  6. court — of a king
  7. racket — for tennis
  8. racket — for tennis
  9. foot — a measure
  10. chair — a professorship
  11. court — of law
  12. cell — in a prison
  13. court — for sport
  14. bulb — for light
  15. file — a tool
  16. bulb — for light
  17. cell — a phone
  18. cell — in biology
  19. file — a line of people
  20. chair — a leader
  21. racket — a loud noise
  22. foot — the bottom
  23. file — a document
  24. chair — to sit 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