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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 120 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: ball · hand · cabinet · court · cell · bore · suit · clip

  1. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  2. The King held a masked ________________.
  3. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  4. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  5. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  6. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  7. The ball is in your ________________.
  8. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  9. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  10. What do you think of the new ________________?
  11. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  12. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  13. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  14. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  15. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  16. He was locked up in a ________________.
  17. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  18. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  19. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  20. When will it ________________ you to start?
  21. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  22. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  23. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  24. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.

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

Answer key

  1. cabinet — ministers
  2. ball — a dance
  3. bore — to tire
  4. cabinet — a cupboard
  5. court — of law
  6. clip — for paper
  7. court — for sport
  8. clip — a video
  9. ball — a round shape
  10. cabinet — ministers
  11. hand — help
  12. suit — in cards
  13. cell — a phone
  14. hand — in cards
  15. suit — clothes
  16. cell — in a prison
  17. cell — in biology
  18. clip — to cut
  19. court — of a king
  20. suit — to fit
  21. ball — a great time
  22. bore — to drill
  23. hand — part of the body
  24. bore — gave birth

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