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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. He was locked up in a ________________.
  2. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  3. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  4. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  5. The ball is in your ________________.
  6. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  7. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  8. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  9. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  10. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  11. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  12. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  13. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  14. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  15. The water is too ________________.
  16. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  17. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  18. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  19. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  20. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  21. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  22. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  23. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  24. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.

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

Answer key

  1. cell — in a prison
  2. leaves — to go away
  3. bat — the animal
  4. cue — a signal
  5. court — for sport
  6. wax — in the ear
  7. leaves — of a tree
  8. leaves — lets stay
  9. wax — to grow
  10. bat — for baseball
  11. wax — for sculpting
  12. cell — in biology
  13. root — the cause
  14. root — of a word
  15. cold — not warm
  16. cold — the Cold War
  17. bat — in an idiom
  18. cue — for pool
  19. root — of a plant
  20. court — of law
  21. court — of a king
  22. cell — a phone
  23. cue — a hint
  24. cold — an illness

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