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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. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  2. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  3. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  4. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  5. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  6. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  7. The ball is in your ________________.
  8. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  9. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  10. He was locked up in a ________________.
  11. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  12. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  13. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  14. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  15. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  16. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  17. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  18. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  19. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  20. Don't do anything ________________.
  21. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  22. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  23. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  24. He was blown up by a land ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cell — in biology
  2. court — of law
  3. cell — a phone
  4. bat — in an idiom
  5. mine — belonging to me
  6. mine — for digging
  7. court — for sport
  8. row — a quarrel
  9. rash — on the skin
  10. cell — in a prison
  11. fan — to cool the air
  12. cue — for pool
  13. fan — a supporter
  14. rash — a series
  15. court — of a king
  16. row — a line
  17. bat — for baseball
  18. cue — a signal
  19. bat — the animal
  20. rash — hasty
  21. fan — a supporter
  22. cue — a hint
  23. row — to paddle
  24. mine — an explosive

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