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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
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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: court · lean · net · cell · track · rock · lash · row

  1. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  2. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  3. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  4. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  5. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  6. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  7. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  8. He was locked up in a ________________.
  9. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  10. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  11. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  12. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  13. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  14. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  15. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  16. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  17. The ball is in your ________________.
  18. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  19. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  20. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  21. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  22. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  23. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  24. The spa offers ________________ extensions.

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

Answer key

  1. lash — a whip stroke
  2. track — to keep track
  3. net — after costs
  4. lash — to lash out
  5. row — a quarrel
  6. rock — music
  7. lean — to rest against
  8. cell — in a prison
  9. cell — a phone
  10. court — of law
  11. rock — to move gently
  12. lean — thin
  13. rock — a stone
  14. net — in sport
  15. track — a song
  16. lean — to bend
  17. court — for sport
  18. net — for catching
  19. row — a line
  20. court — of a king
  21. track — a path
  22. row — to paddle
  23. cell — in biology
  24. lash — an eyelash

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