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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. He was locked up in a ________________.
  2. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  3. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  4. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  5. We're almost out of ________________.
  6. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  7. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  8. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  9. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  10. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  11. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  12. You don't need to ________________ round.
  13. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  14. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  15. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  16. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  17. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  18. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  19. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  20. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  21. The ball is in your ________________.
  22. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  23. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  24. Check the label for the sugar ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cell — in a prison
  2. wave — a sudden rise
  3. kick — in football
  4. lash — an eyelash
  5. pop — soda
  6. court — of law
  7. lash — to lash out
  8. pop — music
  9. cell — in biology
  10. content — happy
  11. kick — with a leg
  12. pop — to visit
  13. cell — a phone
  14. court — of a king
  15. content — videos and posts
  16. bat — in an idiom
  17. wave — of the sea
  18. wave — with your hand
  19. bat — the animal
  20. bat — for baseball
  21. court — for sport
  22. lash — a whip stroke
  23. kick — a thrill
  24. content — the amount

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