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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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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 · clip · net · bowl · court · swing · saw · fall

  1. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  2. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  3. She's very handy with a ________________.
  4. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  5. He works in a ________________ mill.
  6. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  7. The ball is in your ________________.
  8. David sat on the ________________.
  9. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  10. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  11. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  12. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  13. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  14. He was locked up in a ________________.
  15. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  16. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  17. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  18. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  19. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  20. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  21. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  22. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  23. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  24. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.

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

Answer key

  1. net — for catching
  2. court — of a king
  3. saw — the tool
  4. cell — a phone
  5. saw — the tool
  6. clip — to cut
  7. court — for sport
  8. swing — to play on
  9. bowl — to roll
  10. clip — for paper
  11. cell — in biology
  12. swing — music
  13. court — of law
  14. cell — in a prison
  15. saw — past of 'see'
  16. bowl — a dish
  17. net — in sport
  18. bowl — a football final
  19. clip — a video
  20. fall — to drop
  21. fall — the season
  22. swing — in golf
  23. net — after costs
  24. fall — to drop

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