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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. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  2. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  3. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  4. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  5. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  6. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  7. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  8. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  9. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  10. The King held a masked ________________.
  11. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  12. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  13. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  14. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  15. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  16. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  17. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  18. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  19. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  20. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  21. The ball is in your ________________.
  22. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  23. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  24. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.

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

Answer key

  1. club — a group
  2. club — for golf
  3. spring — a coil
  4. vault — in gymnastics
  5. pit — a hole
  6. vault — a safe
  7. hand — help
  8. pit — in a race
  9. hand — part of the body
  10. ball — a dance
  11. patient — a sick person
  12. ball — a great time
  13. patient — a sick person
  14. pit — a fruit stone
  15. hand — in cards
  16. vault — an arched ceiling
  17. club — for dancing
  18. patient — calm and waiting
  19. ball — a round shape
  20. spring — of water
  21. court — for sport
  22. spring — the season
  23. court — of a king
  24. court — of law

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