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

Word bank: dip · cell · last · club · kid · court

  1. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  2. He was locked up in a ________________.
  3. False peace will not ________________.
  4. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  5. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  6. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  7. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  8. The ball is in your ________________.
  9. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  10. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  11. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  12. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  13. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  14. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  15. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  16. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  17. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  18. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — to tease
  2. cell — in a prison
  3. last — to go on
  4. cell — in biology
  5. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  6. court — of law
  7. kid — child
  8. court — for sport
  9. court — of a king
  10. club — for dancing
  11. club — for golf
  12. last — final
  13. club — a group
  14. cell — a phone
  15. dip — to dunk
  16. dip — a sauce
  17. last — finally
  18. dip — to sink

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