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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: rock · tube · court · kid · chest · jam · wind · ball

  1. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  2. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  3. The ball is in your ________________.
  4. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  5. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  6. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  7. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  8. I'll be taking the ________________.
  9. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  10. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  11. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  12. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  13. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  14. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  15. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  16. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  17. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  18. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  19. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  20. The King held a masked ________________.
  21. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  22. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  23. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  24. Tom got himself in a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — child
  2. court — of law
  3. court — for sport
  4. tube — in a tire
  5. jam — in traffic
  6. tube — a container
  7. rock — to move gently
  8. tube — the underground
  9. kid — to tease
  10. chest — of your body
  11. court — of a king
  12. wind — moving air
  13. ball — a great time
  14. chest — a box
  15. jam — to spread on bread
  16. wind — to turn a key
  17. ball — a round shape
  18. wind — moving air
  19. rock — a stone
  20. ball — a dance
  21. rock — music
  22. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  23. chest — of your body
  24. jam — a tight spot

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