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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 116 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: plane · mate · bat · face · bore · cell · kid · court

  1. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  2. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  3. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  4. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  5. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  6. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  7. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  8. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  9. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  10. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  11. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  12. Have you found your soul ________________?
  13. He was locked up in a ________________.
  14. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  15. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  16. The ball is in your ________________.
  17. The ________________ took off on time.
  18. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  19. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  20. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  21. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  22. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  23. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  24. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.

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

Answer key

  1. cell — a phone
  2. bat — the animal
  3. face — to point toward
  4. kid — child
  5. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  6. bore — to tire
  7. plane — in geometry
  8. face — part of the head
  9. plane — a tool
  10. kid — to tease
  11. mate — a friend
  12. mate — a partner
  13. cell — in a prison
  14. mate — to breed
  15. bore — gave birth
  16. court — for sport
  17. plane — an aircraft
  18. bat — for baseball
  19. cell — in biology
  20. bore — to drill
  21. face — to confront
  22. court — of law
  23. bat — in an idiom
  24. court — of a king

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