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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. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  2. The ball is in your ________________.
  3. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  4. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  5. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  6. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  7. David sat on the ________________.
  8. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  9. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  10. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  11. He was locked up in a ________________.
  12. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  13. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  14. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  15. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  16. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  17. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  18. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  19. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  20. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  21. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  22. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  23. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  24. Do you need a ________________ with that?

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

Answer key

  1. hand — in cards
  2. court — for sport
  3. hand — part of the body
  4. stem — of a plant
  5. net — after costs
  6. capital — money
  7. swing — to play on
  8. lash — an eyelash
  9. swing — in golf
  10. lash — a whip stroke
  11. cell — in a prison
  12. court — of law
  13. net — for catching
  14. court — of a king
  15. stem — to come from
  16. capital — a big letter
  17. net — in sport
  18. cell — in biology
  19. cell — a phone
  20. lash — to lash out
  21. swing — music
  22. stem — a stem cell
  23. capital — a city
  24. hand — help

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