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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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468
Word bank
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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 asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  3. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  4. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  5. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  6. The water is too ________________.
  7. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  8. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  9. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  10. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  11. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  12. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  13. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  14. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  15. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  16. He was locked up in a ________________.
  17. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  18. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  19. How do you ________________ your surname?
  20. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  21. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  22. The ball is in your ________________.
  23. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  24. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.

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

Answer key

  1. cell — in biology
  2. spell — magic
  3. spell — a short time
  4. cell — a phone
  5. chair — a leader
  6. cold — not warm
  7. court — of law
  8. kid — child
  9. fine — high quality
  10. court — of a king
  11. fine — all right
  12. cold — an illness
  13. kid — to tease
  14. rest — a break
  15. cold — the Cold War
  16. cell — in a prison
  17. fine — a penalty
  18. rest — what's left
  19. spell — letters
  20. chair — a professorship
  21. chair — to sit on
  22. court — for sport
  23. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  24. rest — what's left

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