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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. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  2. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  3. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  4. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  5. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  6. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  7. He was locked up in a ________________.
  8. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  9. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  10. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  11. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  12. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  13. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  14. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  15. The ball is in your ________________.
  16. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  17. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  18. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  19. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  20. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  21. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  22. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  23. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  24. Have you found your soul ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. fan — to cool the air
  2. cell — a phone
  3. court — of a king
  4. bowl — a dish
  5. bowl — to roll
  6. bat — the animal
  7. cell — in a prison
  8. pit — a hole
  9. fall — to drop
  10. fan — a supporter
  11. court — of law
  12. bat — in an idiom
  13. mate — a friend
  14. pit — a fruit stone
  15. court — for sport
  16. pit — in a race
  17. mate — to breed
  18. fall — to drop
  19. fan — a supporter
  20. fall — the season
  21. cell — in biology
  22. bat — for baseball
  23. bowl — a football final
  24. mate — a partner

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