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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 116 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: lie · swing · deal · court · last · mine · cell · bowl

  1. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  2. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  3. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  4. David sat on the ________________.
  5. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  6. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  7. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  8. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  9. He was locked up in a ________________.
  10. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  11. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  12. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  13. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  14. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  15. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  16. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  17. False peace will not ________________.
  18. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  19. The ball is in your ________________.
  20. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  21. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  22. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  23. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  24. At ________________, we arrived at the village.

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

Answer key

  1. lie — to recline
  2. cell — in biology
  3. cell — a phone
  4. swing — to play on
  5. mine — belonging to me
  6. last — final
  7. lie — an untruth
  8. deal — a big deal
  9. cell — in a prison
  10. bowl — to roll
  11. mine — an explosive
  12. lie — an untruth
  13. bowl — a dish
  14. mine — for digging
  15. deal — to handle
  16. swing — music
  17. last — to go on
  18. court — of law
  19. court — for sport
  20. bowl — a football final
  21. swing — in golf
  22. deal — an agreement
  23. court — of a king
  24. last — finally

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