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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 in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. The ball is in your ________________.
  2. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  3. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  4. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  5. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  6. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  7. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  8. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  9. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  10. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  11. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  12. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  13. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  14. That was ________________ to happen.
  15. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  16. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  17. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  18. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.

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

Answer key

  1. court — for sport
  2. racket — a loud noise
  3. bound — obliged
  4. court — of a king
  5. racket — for tennis
  6. wound — past of 'wind'
  7. vault — in gymnastics
  8. hand — part of the body
  9. vault — an arched ceiling
  10. hand — in cards
  11. racket — for tennis
  12. vault — a safe
  13. wound — an injury
  14. bound — certain
  15. wound — an injury
  16. court — of law
  17. hand — help
  18. bound — tied together

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