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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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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: tear · bat · court · cell · bear · scale

  1. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  2. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  3. He was locked up in a ________________.
  4. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  5. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  6. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  7. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  8. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  9. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  10. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  11. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  12. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  13. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  14. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  15. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  16. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  17. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  18. The ball is in your ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cell — a phone
  2. scale — size or range
  3. cell — in a prison
  4. court — of law
  5. tear — to rip
  6. court — of a king
  7. bear — the animal
  8. cell — in biology
  9. bear — the animal
  10. bat — for baseball
  11. scale — in music
  12. bat — the animal
  13. tear — from crying
  14. bear — to put up with
  15. tear — from crying
  16. bat — in an idiom
  17. scale — for weighing
  18. court — for sport

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