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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: court · wind · plane · bear · cabinet · cap · net · cell

  1. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  2. The ball is in your ________________.
  3. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  4. He was locked up in a ________________.
  5. The ________________ took off on time.
  6. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  7. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  8. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  9. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  10. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  11. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  12. What do you think of the new ________________?
  13. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  14. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  15. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  16. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  17. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  18. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  19. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  20. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  21. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  22. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  23. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  24. What was your ________________ profit last year?

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

Answer key

  1. wind — moving air
  2. court — for sport
  3. cap — a lid
  4. cell — in a prison
  5. plane — an aircraft
  6. cell — a phone
  7. court — of law
  8. wind — moving air
  9. bear — the animal
  10. cap — a hat
  11. cabinet — ministers
  12. cabinet — ministers
  13. court — of a king
  14. bear — to put up with
  15. cell — in biology
  16. net — in sport
  17. plane — in geometry
  18. cabinet — a cupboard
  19. wind — to turn a key
  20. plane — a tool
  21. bear — the animal
  22. net — for catching
  23. cap — of ice
  24. net — after costs

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