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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. The ball is in your ________________.
  2. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  3. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  4. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  5. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  6. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  7. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  8. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  9. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  10. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  11. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  12. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  13. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  14. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  15. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  16. My father caught me by the ________________.
  17. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  18. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  19. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  20. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  21. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  22. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  23. What do you think of the new ________________?
  24. Hold the papers together with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. court — for sport
  2. shower — to wash
  3. court — of law
  4. clip — to cut
  5. rest — what's left
  6. shower — a meteor shower
  7. stem — a stem cell
  8. stem — of a plant
  9. rest — what's left
  10. clip — a video
  11. cap — a lid
  12. cabinet — a cupboard
  13. cabinet — ministers
  14. shower — rain
  15. stem — to come from
  16. arm — part of the body
  17. cap — a hat
  18. cap — of ice
  19. rest — a break
  20. arm — part of the body
  21. arm — a part of something
  22. court — of a king
  23. cabinet — ministers
  24. clip — for paper

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