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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. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  2. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  3. Don't do anything ________________.
  4. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  5. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  6. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  7. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  8. He was locked up in a ________________.
  9. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  10. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  11. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  12. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  13. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  14. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  15. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  16. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  17. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  18. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  19. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  20. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  21. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  22. The ball is in your ________________.
  23. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  24. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.

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

Answer key

  1. cell — in biology
  2. rash — on the skin
  3. rash — hasty
  4. court — of a king
  5. wound — past of 'wind'
  6. kid — child
  7. chip — in a computer
  8. cell — in a prison
  9. kid — to tease
  10. march — the month
  11. chip — for betting
  12. march — music
  13. rash — a series
  14. face — to point toward
  15. cell — a phone
  16. chip — to eat
  17. face — part of the head
  18. court — of law
  19. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  20. wound — an injury
  21. face — to confront
  22. court — for sport
  23. march — the month
  24. wound — an injury

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