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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: stick · court · cell · hide · stand · tear · scale · net

  1. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  2. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  3. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  4. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  5. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  6. The ball is in your ________________.
  7. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  8. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  9. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  10. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  11. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  12. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  13. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  14. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  15. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  16. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  17. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  18. He was locked up in a ________________.
  19. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  20. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  21. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  22. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  23. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  24. I can't ________________ this cold.

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

Answer key

  1. stand — for spectators
  2. tear — from crying
  3. hide — animal skin
  4. tear — from crying
  5. stick — a piece of wood
  6. court — for sport
  7. tear — to rip
  8. stand — on your feet
  9. court — of law
  10. hide — to keep secret
  11. cell — in biology
  12. court — of a king
  13. net — for catching
  14. net — after costs
  15. net — in sport
  16. hide — to keep secret
  17. stick — a piece of wood
  18. cell — in a prison
  19. scale — for weighing
  20. stick — to attach or keep to
  21. cell — a phone
  22. scale — size or range
  23. scale — in music
  24. stand — to bear

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