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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 in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  2. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  3. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  4. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  5. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  6. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  7. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  8. He was locked up in a ________________.
  9. My mare is ________________ in color.
  10. That was a fun ________________.
  11. The ball is in your ________________.
  12. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  13. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  14. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  15. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  16. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  17. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  18. The ball hit the back of the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bay — to keep at bay
  2. net — after costs
  3. court — of a king
  4. chest — a box
  5. net — for catching
  6. chest — of your body
  7. game — a kind of play
  8. cell — in a prison
  9. bay — a horse colour
  10. game — a match
  11. court — for sport
  12. bay — a part of the sea
  13. cell — a phone
  14. cell — in biology
  15. chest — of your body
  16. game — wild animals
  17. court — of law
  18. net — in 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