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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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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: mug · cell · mine · fall · rule · mate · court · field

  1. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  2. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  3. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  4. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  5. He was locked up in a ________________.
  6. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  7. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  8. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  9. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  10. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  11. Where did you ________________ them?
  12. Have you found your soul ________________?
  13. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  14. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  15. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  16. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  17. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  18. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  19. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  20. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  21. The ball is in your ________________.
  22. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  23. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  24. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!

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

Answer key

  1. mine — an explosive
  2. mug — a cup
  3. fall — the season
  4. mate — to breed
  5. cell — in a prison
  6. rule — a law
  7. mate — a friend
  8. mine — for digging
  9. cell — in biology
  10. court — of a king
  11. mug — to rob
  12. mate — a partner
  13. mug — a face
  14. field — a subject
  15. mine — belonging to me
  16. fall — to drop
  17. field — for sport
  18. field — farmland
  19. court — of law
  20. fall — to drop
  21. court — for sport
  22. rule — to rule out
  23. rule — government
  24. cell — a phone

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