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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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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 ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  2. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  3. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  4. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  5. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  6. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  7. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  8. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  9. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  10. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  11. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  12. When will it ________________ you to start?
  13. The ball is in your ________________.
  14. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  15. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  16. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  17. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  18. That was a fun ________________.
  19. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  20. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  21. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  22. The water is too ________________.
  23. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  24. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.

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

Answer key

  1. vault — an arched ceiling
  2. suit — clothes
  3. court — of law
  4. squash — to crush
  5. game — a kind of play
  6. vault — a safe
  7. game — wild animals
  8. cold — an illness
  9. mine — belonging to me
  10. vault — in gymnastics
  11. mine — an explosive
  12. suit — to fit
  13. court — for sport
  14. squash — the sport
  15. suit — in cards
  16. mine — for digging
  17. cold — the Cold War
  18. game — a match
  19. bat — the animal
  20. court — of a king
  21. squash — the vegetable
  22. cold — not warm
  23. bat — in an idiom
  24. bat — for baseball

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