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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 116 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. What do you think of the new ________________?
  2. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  3. He was locked up in a ________________.
  4. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  5. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  6. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  7. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  8. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  9. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  10. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  11. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  12. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  13. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  14. The ball is in your ________________.
  15. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  16. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  17. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  18. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  19. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  20. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  21. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  22. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  23. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  24. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.

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

Answer key

  1. cabinet — ministers
  2. cell — a phone
  3. cell — in a prison
  4. court — of law
  5. leaves — lets stay
  6. cabinet — a cupboard
  7. hand — in cards
  8. leaves — of a tree
  9. hand — help
  10. cell — in biology
  11. row — a line
  12. leaves — to go away
  13. cabinet — ministers
  14. court — for sport
  15. row — a quarrel
  16. row — to paddle
  17. present — the time now
  18. present — there
  19. shower — to wash
  20. shower — rain
  21. present — a gift
  22. hand — part of the body
  23. shower — a meteor shower
  24. court — of a king

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