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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: roll · snap · court · squash · cell · dip · cabinet · wound

  1. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  2. We're on a ________________ here.
  3. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  4. What do you think of the new ________________?
  5. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  6. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  7. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  8. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  9. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  10. The ball is in your ________________.
  11. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  12. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  13. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  14. He was locked up in a ________________.
  15. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  16. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  17. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  18. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  19. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  20. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  21. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  22. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  23. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  24. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.

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

Answer key

  1. court — of a king
  2. roll — on a roll
  3. cell — a phone
  4. cabinet — ministers
  5. wound — an injury
  6. snap — to speak sharply
  7. dip — to sink
  8. dip — a sauce
  9. cell — in biology
  10. court — for sport
  11. court — of law
  12. squash — to crush
  13. dip — to dunk
  14. cell — in a prison
  15. snap — to click
  16. squash — the sport
  17. wound — past of 'wind'
  18. roll — a cake
  19. roll — a list
  20. squash — the vegetable
  21. cabinet — a cupboard
  22. cabinet — ministers
  23. snap — to snap out of it
  24. wound — an injury

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