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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. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  2. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  3. What do you think of the new ________________?
  4. David sat on the ________________.
  5. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  6. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  7. The ball is in your ________________.
  8. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  9. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  10. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  11. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  12. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  13. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  14. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  15. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  16. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  17. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  18. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  19. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  20. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  21. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  22. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  23. The ________________ took off on time.
  24. He was locked up in a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — an injury
  2. cell — a phone
  3. cabinet — ministers
  4. swing — to play on
  5. court — of law
  6. wound — an injury
  7. court — for sport
  8. board — to get on
  9. court — of a king
  10. wound — past of 'wind'
  11. plane — a tool
  12. content — videos and posts
  13. board — a flat piece
  14. board — a committee
  15. swing — in golf
  16. content — happy
  17. content — the amount
  18. swing — music
  19. cell — in biology
  20. cabinet — ministers
  21. plane — in geometry
  22. cabinet — a cupboard
  23. plane — an aircraft
  24. cell — in a prison

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