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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: cell · bowl · court · chip · row · ball · capital · drill

  1. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  2. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  3. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  4. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  5. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  6. The ball is in your ________________.
  7. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  8. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  9. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  10. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  11. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  12. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  13. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  14. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  15. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  16. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  17. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  18. He was locked up in a ________________.
  19. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  20. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  21. The King held a masked ________________.
  22. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  23. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  24. We had a fire ________________ at school today.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — a dish
  2. ball — a round shape
  3. capital — a city
  4. bowl — to roll
  5. row — to paddle
  6. court — for sport
  7. court — of law
  8. court — of a king
  9. drill — the tool
  10. cell — a phone
  11. row — a quarrel
  12. cell — in biology
  13. capital — money
  14. row — a line
  15. chip — in a computer
  16. drill — army training
  17. bowl — a football final
  18. cell — in a prison
  19. chip — to eat
  20. chip — for betting
  21. ball — a dance
  22. capital — a big letter
  23. ball — a great time
  24. drill — a practice

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