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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: racket · mine · content · court · arm · face · ball · cell

  1. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  2. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  3. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  4. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  5. My father caught me by the ________________.
  6. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  7. He was locked up in a ________________.
  8. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  9. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  10. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  11. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  12. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  13. The King held a masked ________________.
  14. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  15. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  16. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  17. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  18. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  19. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  20. The ball is in your ________________.
  21. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  22. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  23. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  24. She's sitting on a gold ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. racket — for tennis
  2. arm — a part of something
  3. content — the amount
  4. cell — a phone
  5. arm — part of the body
  6. content — videos and posts
  7. cell — in a prison
  8. content — happy
  9. racket — for tennis
  10. face — to confront
  11. arm — part of the body
  12. court — of law
  13. ball — a dance
  14. face — to point toward
  15. mine — belonging to me
  16. ball — a great time
  17. racket — a loud noise
  18. face — part of the head
  19. ball — a round shape
  20. court — for sport
  21. cell — in biology
  22. mine — an explosive
  23. court — of a king
  24. mine — for digging

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