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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 120 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: court · fork · net · wake · spell · cell · arm · ball

  1. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  2. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  3. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  4. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  5. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  6. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  7. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  8. The King held a masked ________________.
  9. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  10. My father caught me by the ________________.
  11. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  12. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  13. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  14. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  15. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  16. How do you ________________ your surname?
  17. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  18. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  19. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  20. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  21. The ball is in your ________________.
  22. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  23. He was locked up in a ________________.
  24. He took the fish out of the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cell — a phone
  2. ball — a round shape
  3. court — of law
  4. fork — to eat with
  5. fork — a garden tool
  6. arm — part of the body
  7. wake — a trail
  8. ball — a dance
  9. net — after costs
  10. arm — part of the body
  11. court — of a king
  12. arm — a part of something
  13. fork — in a road
  14. net — in sport
  15. wake — before a funeral
  16. spell — letters
  17. cell — in biology
  18. spell — magic
  19. wake — to stop sleeping
  20. ball — a great time
  21. court — for sport
  22. spell — a short time
  23. cell — in a prison
  24. net — for catching

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