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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: foot · chest · cap · court · rule · cell

  1. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  2. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  3. The ball is in your ________________.
  4. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  5. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  6. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  7. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  8. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  9. He was locked up in a ________________.
  10. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  11. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  12. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  13. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  14. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  15. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  16. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  17. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  18. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?

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

Answer key

  1. cap — a hat
  2. rule — government
  3. court — for sport
  4. chest — a box
  5. foot — part of the body
  6. chest — of your body
  7. cell — in biology
  8. foot — the bottom
  9. cell — in a prison
  10. cell — a phone
  11. court — of law
  12. court — of a king
  13. cap — of ice
  14. foot — a measure
  15. rule — to rule out
  16. chest — of your body
  17. rule — a law
  18. cap — a lid

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