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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: cell · cap · court · mouse · cold · swing

  1. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  2. He was locked up in a ________________.
  3. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  4. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  5. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  6. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  7. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  8. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  9. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  10. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  11. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  12. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  13. The water is too ________________.
  14. David sat on the ________________.
  15. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  16. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  17. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  18. The ball is in your ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cap — a hat
  2. cell — in a prison
  3. cell — in biology
  4. mouse — the animal
  5. swing — in golf
  6. cold — the Cold War
  7. mouse — for a computer
  8. court — of a king
  9. court — of law
  10. cap — of ice
  11. cell — a phone
  12. cold — an illness
  13. cold — not warm
  14. swing — to play on
  15. cap — a lid
  16. swing — music
  17. mouse — the animal
  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