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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: cell · last · cue · chest · object · tube · file · court

  1. False peace will not ________________.
  2. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  3. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  4. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  5. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  6. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  7. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  8. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  9. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  10. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  11. I'll be taking the ________________.
  12. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  13. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  14. The ball is in your ________________.
  15. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  16. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  17. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  18. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  19. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  20. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  21. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  22. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  23. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  24. He was locked up in a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. last — to go on
  2. cell — a phone
  3. file — a tool
  4. object — an aim
  5. last — final
  6. last — finally
  7. file — a document
  8. cue — a signal
  9. chest — of your body
  10. court — of a king
  11. tube — the underground
  12. cell — in biology
  13. object — a thing
  14. court — for sport
  15. tube — in a tire
  16. tube — a container
  17. chest — of your body
  18. object — to protest
  19. cue — for pool
  20. cue — a hint
  21. chest — a box
  22. court — of law
  23. file — a line of people
  24. cell — in a prison

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