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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: rest · cell · court · ball · pitch · mark · chair · net

  1. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  2. The ball is in your ________________.
  3. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  4. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  5. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  6. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  7. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  8. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  9. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  10. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  11. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  12. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  13. He was locked up in a ________________.
  14. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  15. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  16. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  17. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  18. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  19. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  20. The King held a masked ________________.
  21. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  22. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  23. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  24. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.

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

Answer key

  1. cell — in biology
  2. court — for sport
  3. cell — a phone
  4. rest — a break
  5. ball — a great time
  6. pitch — completely
  7. pitch — a sports field
  8. ball — a round shape
  9. chair — a professorship
  10. pitch — a sales talk
  11. mark — a trace
  12. rest — what's left
  13. cell — in a prison
  14. court — of a king
  15. net — for catching
  16. net — after costs
  17. mark — a grade
  18. chair — a leader
  19. net — in sport
  20. ball — a dance
  21. mark — to pay attention
  22. chair — to sit on
  23. court — of law
  24. rest — what's left

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