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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. He was locked up in a ________________.
  2. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  3. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  4. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  5. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  6. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  7. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  8. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  9. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  10. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  11. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  12. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  13. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  14. Have you found your soul ________________?
  15. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  16. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  17. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  18. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  19. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  20. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  21. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  22. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  23. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  24. The ball is in your ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cell — in a prison
  2. fine — all right
  3. court — of a king
  4. fine — high quality
  5. cell — in biology
  6. lean — to rest against
  7. lean — to bend
  8. straw — to clutch at straws
  9. mate — to breed
  10. wake — before a funeral
  11. bat — the animal
  12. fine — a penalty
  13. bat — in an idiom
  14. mate — a partner
  15. wake — a trail
  16. mate — a friend
  17. court — of law
  18. straw — a straw man
  19. cell — a phone
  20. lean — thin
  21. bat — for baseball
  22. wake — to stop sleeping
  23. straw — dry grass
  24. court — for sport

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