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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 120 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: cue · last · court · race · row · cell · mine · lash

  1. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  2. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  3. The ball is in your ________________.
  4. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  5. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  6. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  7. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  8. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  9. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  10. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  11. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  12. He was locked up in a ________________.
  13. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  14. False peace will not ________________.
  15. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  16. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  17. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  18. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  19. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  20. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  21. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  22. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  23. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  24. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.

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

Answer key

  1. last — finally
  2. lash — a whip stroke
  3. court — for sport
  4. lash — an eyelash
  5. race — a contest
  6. mine — belonging to me
  7. row — to paddle
  8. court — of a king
  9. row — a line
  10. cell — a phone
  11. race — the arms race
  12. cell — in a prison
  13. last — final
  14. last — to go on
  15. cue — for pool
  16. mine — an explosive
  17. cell — in biology
  18. cue — a hint
  19. row — a quarrel
  20. lash — to lash out
  21. court — of law
  22. race — humankind
  23. mine — for digging
  24. cue — a signal

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