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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: rush · tube · straw · root · firm · court · chest · fan

  1. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  2. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  3. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  4. That must've been a ________________.
  5. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  6. The ball is in your ________________.
  7. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  8. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  9. I'll be taking the ________________.
  10. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  11. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  12. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  13. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  14. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  15. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  16. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  17. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  18. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  19. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  20. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  21. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  22. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  23. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  24. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — of your body
  2. court — of law
  3. rush — hurry
  4. rush — a thrill
  5. fan — a supporter
  6. court — for sport
  7. firm — steady
  8. firm — a company
  9. tube — the underground
  10. chest — a box
  11. firm — decided
  12. chest — of your body
  13. tube — in a tire
  14. fan — a supporter
  15. fan — to cool the air
  16. rush — to hurry
  17. straw — dry grass
  18. straw — to clutch at straws
  19. root — of a word
  20. root — the cause
  21. root — of a plant
  22. straw — a straw man
  23. court — of a king
  24. tube — a container

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