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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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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 · game · bat · drill · suit · cap · cell · pass

  1. That was a fun ________________.
  2. The ball is in your ________________.
  3. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  4. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  5. He was locked up in a ________________.
  6. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  7. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  8. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  9. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  10. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  11. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  12. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  13. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  14. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  15. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  16. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  17. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  18. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  19. When will it ________________ you to start?
  20. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  21. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  22. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  23. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  24. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.

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

Answer key

  1. game — a match
  2. court — for sport
  3. pass — to succeed
  4. bat — for baseball
  5. cell — in a prison
  6. cap — of ice
  7. cap — a hat
  8. game — wild animals
  9. court — of law
  10. drill — a practice
  11. pass — to spend time
  12. pass — a permit
  13. game — a kind of play
  14. court — of a king
  15. drill — army training
  16. suit — clothes
  17. suit — in cards
  18. cell — a phone
  19. suit — to fit
  20. drill — the tool
  21. bat — in an idiom
  22. bat — the animal
  23. cap — a lid
  24. cell — in biology

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