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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. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  2. He is an ace ________________.
  3. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  4. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  5. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  6. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  7. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  8. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  9. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  10. I'll be taking the ________________.
  11. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  12. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  13. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  14. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  15. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  16. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  17. The ball is in your ________________.
  18. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  19. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  20. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  21. He was locked up in a ________________.
  22. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  23. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  24. We took cover from the thunder ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cell — a phone
  2. pitcher — in baseball
  3. shower — to wash
  4. rock — a stone
  5. tube — in a tire
  6. court — of law
  7. tube — a container
  8. field — farmland
  9. pitcher — a jug
  10. tube — the underground
  11. rule — a law
  12. rock — to move gently
  13. rule — government
  14. rock — music
  15. shower — a meteor shower
  16. field — for sport
  17. court — for sport
  18. field — a subject
  19. court — of a king
  20. rule — to rule out
  21. cell — in a prison
  22. pitcher — a jug
  23. cell — in biology
  24. shower — rain

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