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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: bay · court · last · net · pit · cell · pitcher · leaves

  1. He was locked up in a ________________.
  2. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  3. My mare is ________________ in color.
  4. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  5. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  6. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  7. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  8. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  9. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  10. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  11. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  12. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  13. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  14. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  15. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  16. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  17. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  18. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  19. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  20. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  21. He is an ace ________________.
  22. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  23. The ball is in your ________________.
  24. False peace will not ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cell — in a prison
  2. net — after costs
  3. bay — a horse colour
  4. net — in sport
  5. last — finally
  6. last — final
  7. court — of a king
  8. bay — to keep at bay
  9. pit — a hole
  10. pit — a fruit stone
  11. pitcher — a jug
  12. cell — in biology
  13. leaves — to go away
  14. leaves — of a tree
  15. cell — a phone
  16. court — of law
  17. pitcher — a jug
  18. leaves — lets stay
  19. pit — in a race
  20. net — for catching
  21. pitcher — in baseball
  22. bay — a part of the sea
  23. court — for sport
  24. last — to go on

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