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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: bore · roll · march · chair · cap · bowl · cell · court

  1. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  2. We're on a ________________ here.
  3. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  4. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  5. He was locked up in a ________________.
  6. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  7. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  8. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  9. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  10. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  11. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  12. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  13. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  14. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  15. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  16. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  17. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  18. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  19. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  20. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  21. The ball is in your ________________.
  22. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  23. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  24. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.

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

Answer key

  1. cell — a phone
  2. roll — on a roll
  3. court — of law
  4. march — music
  5. cell — in a prison
  6. chair — to sit on
  7. march — the month
  8. roll — a list
  9. cap — a lid
  10. bowl — to roll
  11. chair — a leader
  12. bore — to tire
  13. bore — gave birth
  14. bowl — a football final
  15. cap — a hat
  16. cap — of ice
  17. court — of a king
  18. bore — to drill
  19. chair — a professorship
  20. bowl — a dish
  21. court — for sport
  22. march — the month
  23. roll — a cake
  24. cell — in biology

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