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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: cell · mate · saw · court · bat · bay · bark · band

  1. My mare is ________________ in color.
  2. She's very handy with a ________________.
  3. He was locked up in a ________________.
  4. He works in a ________________ mill.
  5. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  6. Have you found your soul ________________?
  7. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  8. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  9. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  10. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  11. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  12. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  13. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  14. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  15. The ball is in your ________________.
  16. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  17. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  18. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  19. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  20. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  21. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  22. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  23. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  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. bay — a horse colour
  2. saw — the tool
  3. cell — in a prison
  4. saw — the tool
  5. court — of law
  6. mate — a partner
  7. bay — a part of the sea
  8. bark — a dog's sound
  9. bat — the animal
  10. bark — of a tree
  11. bark — to shout
  12. band — a rubber band
  13. cell — in biology
  14. mate — a friend
  15. court — for sport
  16. band — a ring
  17. bat — in an idiom
  18. saw — past of 'see'
  19. bay — to keep at bay
  20. mate — to breed
  21. band — a music group
  22. bat — for baseball
  23. court — of a king
  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