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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 players ran onto the football ________________.
  2. Don't do anything ________________.
  3. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  4. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  5. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  6. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  7. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  8. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  9. The ball is in your ________________.
  10. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  11. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  12. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  13. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  14. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  15. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  16. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  17. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  18. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  19. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  20. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  21. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  22. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  23. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  24. We were using a ________________ as a seat.

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

Answer key

  1. pitch — a sports field
  2. rash — hasty
  3. court — of a king
  4. rash — a series
  5. court — of law
  6. vault — in gymnastics
  7. jam — to spread on bread
  8. bark — of a tree
  9. court — for sport
  10. clip — to cut
  11. bark — to shout
  12. clip — a video
  13. rock — music
  14. jam — a tight spot
  15. vault — a safe
  16. jam — in traffic
  17. clip — for paper
  18. rash — on the skin
  19. vault — an arched ceiling
  20. bark — a dog's sound
  21. pitch — a sales talk
  22. rock — to move gently
  23. pitch — completely
  24. rock — a stone

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