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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: prune · bay · tube · cell · saw · cap · court · staff

  1. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  2. The ball is in your ________________.
  3. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  4. My mare is ________________ in color.
  5. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  6. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  7. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  8. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  9. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  10. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  11. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  12. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  13. He was locked up in a ________________.
  14. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  15. I'll be taking the ________________.
  16. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  17. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  18. She's very handy with a ________________.
  19. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  20. He works in a ________________ mill.
  21. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  22. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  23. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  24. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.

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. cap — of ice
  4. bay — a horse colour
  5. prune — to trim
  6. cap — a hat
  7. cap — a lid
  8. staff — employees
  9. court — of law
  10. cell — a phone
  11. prune — to trim
  12. saw — past of 'see'
  13. cell — in a prison
  14. tube — a container
  15. tube — the underground
  16. bay — a part of the sea
  17. staff — a stick
  18. saw — the tool
  19. prune — the fruit
  20. saw — the tool
  21. bay — to keep at bay
  22. staff — employees
  23. tube — in a tire
  24. court — of a king

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