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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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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: content · bat · cue · hide · court · prune · cell · coach

  1. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  2. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  3. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  4. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  5. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  6. He was locked up in a ________________.
  7. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  8. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  9. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  10. The ball is in your ________________.
  11. Have you met the new head ________________?
  12. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  13. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  14. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  15. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  16. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  17. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  18. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  19. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  20. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  21. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  22. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  23. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  24. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.

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

Answer key

  1. cue — for pool
  2. court — of law
  3. prune — to trim
  4. bat — the animal
  5. bat — in an idiom
  6. cell — in a prison
  7. coach — pulled by horses
  8. cell — a phone
  9. cue — a signal
  10. court — for sport
  11. coach — a trainer
  12. hide — to keep secret
  13. cell — in biology
  14. prune — the fruit
  15. cue — a hint
  16. hide — to keep secret
  17. hide — animal skin
  18. content — the amount
  19. content — videos and posts
  20. coach — a trainer
  21. bat — for baseball
  22. content — happy
  23. court — of a king
  24. prune — to trim

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