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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. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  2. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  3. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  4. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  5. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  6. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  7. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  8. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  9. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  10. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  11. He is an ace ________________.
  12. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  13. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  14. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  15. He was locked up in a ________________.
  16. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  17. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  18. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  19. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  20. The ball is in your ________________.
  21. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  22. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  23. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  24. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.

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

Answer key

  1. court — of law
  2. pitcher — a jug
  3. pitcher — a jug
  4. cell — a phone
  5. hand — in cards
  6. racket — for tennis
  7. cell — in biology
  8. rule — a law
  9. court — of a king
  10. racket — a loud noise
  11. pitcher — in baseball
  12. kick — a thrill
  13. hand — part of the body
  14. rule — government
  15. cell — in a prison
  16. racket — for tennis
  17. branch — a division
  18. kick — in football
  19. hand — help
  20. court — for sport
  21. branch — of a bank
  22. rule — to rule out
  23. branch — of a tree
  24. kick — with a leg

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