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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. The ball is in your ________________.
  2. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  3. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  4. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  5. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  6. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  7. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  8. The ________________ took off on time.
  9. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  10. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  11. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  12. He was locked up in a ________________.
  13. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  14. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  15. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  16. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  17. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  18. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  19. Have you found your soul ________________?
  20. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  21. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  22. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  23. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  24. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.

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

Answer key

  1. court — for sport
  2. rest — a break
  3. lash — a whip stroke
  4. mate — to breed
  5. cell — a phone
  6. lash — to lash out
  7. court — of law
  8. plane — an aircraft
  9. deal — an agreement
  10. cell — in biology
  11. lash — an eyelash
  12. cell — in a prison
  13. rest — what's left
  14. plane — in geometry
  15. deal — a big deal
  16. court — of a king
  17. mate — a friend
  18. deal — to handle
  19. mate — a partner
  20. plane — a tool
  21. rest — what's left
  22. rule — to rule out
  23. rule — government
  24. rule — a 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