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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. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  2. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  3. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  4. The ball is in your ________________.
  5. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  6. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  7. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  8. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  9. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  10. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  11. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  12. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  13. The King held a masked ________________.
  14. The water is too ________________.
  15. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  16. We're almost out of ________________.
  17. You don't need to ________________ round.
  18. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  19. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  20. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  21. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  22. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  23. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  24. My father caught me by the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — help
  2. hand — part of the body
  3. vault — a safe
  4. court — for sport
  5. arm — a part of something
  6. cold — an illness
  7. ball — a round shape
  8. court — of law
  9. bark — to shout
  10. arm — part of the body
  11. vault — in gymnastics
  12. hand — in cards
  13. ball — a dance
  14. cold — not warm
  15. bark — a dog's sound
  16. pop — soda
  17. pop — to visit
  18. cold — the Cold War
  19. ball — a great time
  20. pop — music
  21. bark — of a tree
  22. vault — an arched ceiling
  23. court — of a king
  24. arm — part of the body

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