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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. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  2. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  3. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  4. He was locked up in a ________________.
  5. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  6. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  7. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  8. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  9. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  10. The ball is in your ________________.
  11. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  12. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  13. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  14. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  15. I'll be taking the ________________.
  16. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  17. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  18. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  19. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  20. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  21. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  22. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  23. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  24. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cell — in biology
  2. march — music
  3. rule — government
  4. cell — in a prison
  5. tube — in a tire
  6. foot — the bottom
  7. bat — in an idiom
  8. court — of a king
  9. bat — the animal
  10. court — for sport
  11. rule — to rule out
  12. court — of law
  13. march — the month
  14. shower — a meteor shower
  15. tube — the underground
  16. shower — to wash
  17. shower — rain
  18. cell — a phone
  19. bat — for baseball
  20. tube — a container
  21. foot — a measure
  22. rule — a law
  23. foot — part of the body
  24. march — the month

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