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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: swing · clip · cell · wound · can · pitcher · cabinet · court

  1. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  2. What do you think of the new ________________?
  3. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  4. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  5. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  6. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  7. He was locked up in a ________________.
  8. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  9. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  10. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  11. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  12. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  13. David sat on the ________________.
  14. He is an ace ________________.
  15. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  16. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  17. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  18. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  19. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  20. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  21. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  22. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  23. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  24. The ball is in your ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cell — a phone
  2. cabinet — ministers
  3. cabinet — ministers
  4. wound — past of 'wind'
  5. pitcher — a jug
  6. pitcher — a jug
  7. cell — in a prison
  8. wound — an injury
  9. wound — an injury
  10. clip — to cut
  11. can — to be able to
  12. swing — music
  13. swing — to play on
  14. pitcher — in baseball
  15. cabinet — a cupboard
  16. clip — a video
  17. cell — in biology
  18. court — of law
  19. clip — for paper
  20. court — of a king
  21. swing — in golf
  22. can — a tin
  23. can — a tin
  24. court — for sport

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