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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 don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  3. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  4. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  5. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  6. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  7. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  8. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  9. The ball is in your ________________.
  10. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  11. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  12. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  13. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  14. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  15. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  16. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  17. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  18. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  19. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  20. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  21. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  22. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  23. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  24. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.

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

Answer key

  1. cell — in a prison
  2. mouse — the animal
  3. cell — a phone
  4. court — of a king
  5. club — a group
  6. bat — the animal
  7. club — for dancing
  8. lash — a whip stroke
  9. court — for sport
  10. hide — to keep secret
  11. lash — an eyelash
  12. mouse — the animal
  13. hide — to keep secret
  14. lash — to lash out
  15. club — for golf
  16. bat — for baseball
  17. degree — from a university
  18. bat — in an idiom
  19. court — of law
  20. cell — in biology
  21. degree — an amount
  22. degree — temperature
  23. mouse — for a computer
  24. hide — animal skin

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