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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: can · chest · spring · cap · cell · temple · pop · court

  1. You don't need to ________________ round.
  2. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  3. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  4. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  5. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  6. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  7. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  8. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  9. When was this ________________ built?
  10. We're almost out of ________________.
  11. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  12. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  13. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  14. The ball is in your ________________.
  15. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  16. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  17. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  18. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  19. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  20. He was locked up in a ________________.
  21. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  22. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  23. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  24. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.

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

Answer key

  1. pop — to visit
  2. cell — in biology
  3. cell — a phone
  4. cap — a hat
  5. court — of law
  6. can — a tin
  7. spring — a coil
  8. temple — side of the head
  9. temple — a place of worship
  10. pop — soda
  11. spring — the season
  12. can — to be able to
  13. pop — music
  14. court — for sport
  15. can — a tin
  16. court — of a king
  17. temple — a place of worship
  18. cap — of ice
  19. chest — of your body
  20. cell — in a prison
  21. cap — a lid
  22. chest — of your body
  23. spring — of water
  24. chest — a box

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