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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. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  2. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  3. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  4. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  5. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  6. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  7. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  8. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  9. He was locked up in a ________________.
  10. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  11. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  12. The ball is in your ________________.
  13. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  14. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  15. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  16. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  17. What do you think of the new ________________?
  18. The ________________ market has crashed.
  19. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  20. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  21. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  22. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  23. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  24. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.

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

Answer key

  1. cabinet — ministers
  2. bat — the animal
  3. staff — employees
  4. hide — to keep secret
  5. bat — for baseball
  6. stock — goods
  7. court — of a king
  8. court — of law
  9. cell — in a prison
  10. cell — a phone
  11. hide — to keep secret
  12. court — for sport
  13. hide — animal skin
  14. kick — in football
  15. bat — in an idiom
  16. kick — a thrill
  17. cabinet — ministers
  18. stock — shares
  19. cabinet — a cupboard
  20. kick — with a leg
  21. stock — a soup base
  22. staff — employees
  23. staff — a stick
  24. cell — in biology

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