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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. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  3. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  4. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  5. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  6. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  7. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  8. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  9. Don't do anything ________________.
  10. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  11. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  12. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  13. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  14. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  15. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  16. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  17. The ball is in your ________________.
  18. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  19. He is an ace ________________.
  20. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  21. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  22. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  23. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  24. What was your ________________ profit last year?

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

Answer key

  1. cell — in a prison
  2. cell — in biology
  3. net — for catching
  4. march — the month
  5. pitcher — a jug
  6. pit — in a race
  7. march — the month
  8. pitcher — a jug
  9. rash — hasty
  10. rash — a series
  11. scale — for weighing
  12. scale — size or range
  13. court — of law
  14. pit — a fruit stone
  15. net — in sport
  16. scale — in music
  17. court — for sport
  18. court — of a king
  19. pitcher — in baseball
  20. march — music
  21. cell — a phone
  22. pit — a hole
  23. rash — on the skin
  24. net — after costs

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