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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. He was locked up in a ________________.
  3. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  4. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  5. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  6. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  7. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  8. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  9. The ball is in your ________________.
  10. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  11. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  12. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  13. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  14. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  15. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  16. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  17. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  18. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  19. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  20. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  21. Have you found your soul ________________?
  22. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  23. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  24. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.

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

Answer key

  1. cell — in biology
  2. cell — in a prison
  3. mouse — for a computer
  4. tear — from crying
  5. mouse — the animal
  6. hand — part of the body
  7. bat — for baseball
  8. hand — in cards
  9. court — for sport
  10. bat — the animal
  11. bat — in an idiom
  12. tear — to rip
  13. court — of a king
  14. field — a subject
  15. field — farmland
  16. court — of law
  17. mate — to breed
  18. mate — a friend
  19. tear — from crying
  20. field — for sport
  21. mate — a partner
  22. cell — a phone
  23. hand — help
  24. mouse — the animal

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