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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. He is an ace ________________.
  2. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  3. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  4. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  5. The ball is in your ________________.
  6. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  7. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  8. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  9. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  10. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  11. He was locked up in a ________________.
  12. My mare is ________________ in color.
  13. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  14. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  15. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  16. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  17. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  18. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  19. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  20. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  21. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  22. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  23. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  24. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — in baseball
  2. cell — a phone
  3. bay — to keep at bay
  4. content — the amount
  5. court — for sport
  6. bat — in an idiom
  7. pitcher — a jug
  8. bowl — to roll
  9. snap — to click
  10. bowl — a football final
  11. cell — in a prison
  12. bay — a horse colour
  13. bay — a part of the sea
  14. snap — to snap out of it
  15. bowl — a dish
  16. bat — for baseball
  17. content — happy
  18. snap — to speak sharply
  19. content — videos and posts
  20. cell — in biology
  21. bat — the animal
  22. pitcher — a jug
  23. court — of a king
  24. court — of law

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