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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. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  3. Have you settled on a ________________?
  4. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  5. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  6. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  7. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  8. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  9. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  10. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  11. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  12. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  13. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  14. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  15. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  16. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  17. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  18. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  19. He was locked up in a ________________.
  20. That was a fun ________________.
  21. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  22. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  23. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  24. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!

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

Answer key

  1. court — for sport
  2. court — of law
  3. date — on the calendar
  4. date — the fruit
  5. date — on the calendar
  6. lash — to lash out
  7. file — a tool
  8. bear — the animal
  9. lash — an eyelash
  10. court — of a king
  11. cell — in biology
  12. cell — a phone
  13. file — a document
  14. present — a gift
  15. present — the time now
  16. file — a line of people
  17. game — a kind of play
  18. game — wild animals
  19. cell — in a prison
  20. game — a match
  21. present — there
  22. bear — the animal
  23. lash — a whip stroke
  24. bear — to put up with

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