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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: bank · land · fall · cell · court · cap · saw · lash

  1. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  2. The ball is in your ________________.
  3. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  4. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  5. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  6. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  7. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  8. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  9. He was locked up in a ________________.
  10. He works in a ________________ mill.
  11. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  12. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  13. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  14. When are we going to ________________?
  15. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  16. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  17. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  18. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  19. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  20. She's very handy with a ________________.
  21. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  22. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  23. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  24. The polar ice ________________ is melting.

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

Answer key

  1. lash — a whip stroke
  2. court — for sport
  3. land — ground
  4. cell — in biology
  5. fall — to drop
  6. court — of law
  7. fall — to drop
  8. cap — a hat
  9. cell — in a prison
  10. saw — the tool
  11. bank — for money
  12. bank — of a river
  13. cap — a lid
  14. land — to come down
  15. fall — the season
  16. cell — a phone
  17. land — a country
  18. saw — past of 'see'
  19. bank — for money
  20. saw — the tool
  21. lash — to lash out
  22. court — of a king
  23. lash — an eyelash
  24. cap — of ice

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