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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 · cell · net · hand · lash · fan · bat · lie

  1. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  2. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  3. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  4. The ball is in your ________________.
  5. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  6. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  7. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  8. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  9. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  10. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  11. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  12. He was locked up in a ________________.
  13. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  14. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  15. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  16. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  17. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  18. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  19. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  20. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  21. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  22. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  23. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  24. He took the fish out of the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — for baseball
  2. cell — a phone
  3. lie — an untruth
  4. court — for sport
  5. hand — in cards
  6. hand — part of the body
  7. fan — a supporter
  8. net — after costs
  9. fan — to cool the air
  10. lash — an eyelash
  11. bat — in an idiom
  12. cell — in a prison
  13. lie — to recline
  14. bat — the animal
  15. court — of law
  16. net — in sport
  17. court — of a king
  18. cell — in biology
  19. lash — to lash out
  20. fan — a supporter
  21. hand — help
  22. lie — an untruth
  23. lash — a whip stroke
  24. net — for catching

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