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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: court · chest · capital · mouse · fall · mug · staff · cell

  1. Where did you ________________ them?
  2. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  3. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  4. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  5. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  6. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  7. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  8. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  9. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  10. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  11. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  12. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  13. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  14. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  15. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  16. The ball is in your ________________.
  17. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  18. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  19. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  20. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  21. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  22. He was locked up in a ________________.
  23. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  24. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.

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

Answer key

  1. mug — to rob
  2. fall — the season
  3. mouse — for a computer
  4. chest — of your body
  5. fall — to drop
  6. capital — a city
  7. court — of a king
  8. staff — employees
  9. staff — a stick
  10. court — of law
  11. chest — of your body
  12. staff — employees
  13. cell — a phone
  14. capital — money
  15. fall — to drop
  16. court — for sport
  17. chest — a box
  18. mug — a face
  19. mouse — the animal
  20. cell — in biology
  21. mug — a cup
  22. cell — in a prison
  23. mouse — the animal
  24. capital — a big letter

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