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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. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  2. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  3. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  4. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  5. You don't need to ________________ round.
  6. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  7. We're almost out of ________________.
  8. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  9. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  10. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  11. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  12. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  13. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  14. He was locked up in a ________________.
  15. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  16. False peace will not ________________.
  17. Don't do anything ________________.
  18. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  19. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  20. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  21. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  22. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  23. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  24. The ball is in your ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cell — a phone
  2. court — of law
  3. cell — in biology
  4. rash — on the skin
  5. pop — to visit
  6. last — final
  7. pop — soda
  8. chip — for betting
  9. chip — in a computer
  10. drill — army training
  11. prune — to trim
  12. drill — a practice
  13. prune — to trim
  14. cell — in a prison
  15. last — finally
  16. last — to go on
  17. rash — hasty
  18. court — of a king
  19. chip — to eat
  20. prune — the fruit
  21. rash — a series
  22. drill — the tool
  23. pop — music
  24. court — for sport

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