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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 120 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. He was locked up in a ________________.
  2. The ball is in your ________________.
  3. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  4. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  5. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  6. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  7. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  8. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  9. The water is too ________________.
  10. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  11. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  12. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  13. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  14. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  15. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  16. The King held a masked ________________.
  17. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  18. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.

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

Answer key

  1. cell — in a prison
  2. court — for sport
  3. cell — a phone
  4. root — the cause
  5. ball — a great time
  6. court — of a king
  7. cell — in biology
  8. cue — a signal
  9. cold — not warm
  10. ball — a round shape
  11. cue — for pool
  12. root — of a plant
  13. court — of law
  14. cue — a hint
  15. root — of a word
  16. ball — a dance
  17. cold — the Cold War
  18. cold — an illness

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