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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. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  2. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  3. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  4. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  5. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  6. The ball is in your ________________.
  7. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  8. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  9. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  10. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  11. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  12. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  13. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  14. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  15. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  16. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  17. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  18. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  19. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  20. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  21. He was locked up in a ________________.
  22. Have you met the new head ________________?
  23. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  24. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.

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

Answer key

  1. cell — in biology
  2. coach — pulled by horses
  3. bat — for baseball
  4. coach — a trainer
  5. cell — a phone
  6. court — for sport
  7. race — humankind
  8. bat — the animal
  9. rest — a break
  10. bat — in an idiom
  11. rest — what's left
  12. scale — for weighing
  13. race — a contest
  14. race — the arms race
  15. rest — what's left
  16. court — of law
  17. scale — in music
  18. scale — size or range
  19. court — of a king
  20. lean — to rest against
  21. cell — in a prison
  22. coach — a trainer
  23. lean — thin
  24. lean — to bend

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