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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 116 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: capital · court · suit · cell · cold · bay

  1. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  2. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  3. He was locked up in a ________________.
  4. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  5. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  6. My mare is ________________ in color.
  7. The water is too ________________.
  8. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  9. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  10. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  11. When will it ________________ you to start?
  12. The ball is in your ________________.
  13. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  14. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  15. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  16. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  17. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  18. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cell — a phone
  2. capital — a big letter
  3. cell — in a prison
  4. cold — an illness
  5. suit — clothes
  6. bay — a horse colour
  7. cold — not warm
  8. court — of law
  9. capital — money
  10. cell — in biology
  11. suit — to fit
  12. court — for sport
  13. court — of a king
  14. bay — a part of the sea
  15. suit — in cards
  16. capital — a city
  17. cold — the Cold War
  18. bay — to keep at bay

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