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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 · stand · cap · rest · tube · bat · firm · court

  1. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  2. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  3. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  4. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  5. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  6. The ball is in your ________________.
  7. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  8. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  9. I can't ________________ this cold.
  10. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  11. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  12. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  13. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  14. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  15. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  16. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  17. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  18. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  19. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  20. He was locked up in a ________________.
  21. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  22. I'll be taking the ________________.
  23. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  24. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?

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

Answer key

  1. court — of law
  2. rest — what's left
  3. cap — a hat
  4. tube — a container
  5. cap — of ice
  6. court — for sport
  7. cell — in biology
  8. cell — a phone
  9. stand — to bear
  10. rest — a break
  11. rest — what's left
  12. bat — the animal
  13. firm — steady
  14. bat — for baseball
  15. firm — a company
  16. court — of a king
  17. stand — for spectators
  18. stand — on your feet
  19. firm — decided
  20. cell — in a prison
  21. bat — in an idiom
  22. tube — the underground
  23. tube — in a tire
  24. cap — a lid

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