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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: row · court · bay · press · mate · cell · cabinet · scale

  1. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  2. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  3. My mare is ________________ in color.
  4. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  5. Did you ________________ the button?
  6. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  7. What do you think of the new ________________?
  8. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  9. He was locked up in a ________________.
  10. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  11. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  12. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  13. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  14. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  15. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  16. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  17. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  18. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  19. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  20. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  21. The ball is in your ________________.
  22. Have you found your soul ________________?
  23. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  24. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — to breed
  2. scale — for weighing
  3. bay — a horse colour
  4. cell — a phone
  5. press — to push
  6. mate — a friend
  7. cabinet — ministers
  8. bay — a part of the sea
  9. cell — in a prison
  10. court — of a king
  11. scale — size or range
  12. scale — in music
  13. row — a quarrel
  14. court — of law
  15. row — to paddle
  16. cabinet — a cupboard
  17. row — a line
  18. bay — to keep at bay
  19. cell — in biology
  20. press — a publisher
  21. court — for sport
  22. mate — a partner
  23. cabinet — ministers
  24. press — newspapers

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