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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. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  2. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  3. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  4. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  5. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  6. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  7. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  8. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  9. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  10. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  11. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  12. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  13. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  14. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  15. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  16. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  17. When are we going to ________________?
  18. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  19. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  20. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  21. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  22. The ball is in your ________________.
  23. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  24. When was this ________________ built?

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

Answer key

  1. court — of a king
  2. land — ground
  3. wake — a trail
  4. vault — in gymnastics
  5. land — a country
  6. bat — for baseball
  7. temple — a place of worship
  8. rest — what's left
  9. rest — a break
  10. court — of law
  11. temple — side of the head
  12. squash — the vegetable
  13. bat — in an idiom
  14. wake — before a funeral
  15. squash — to crush
  16. rest — what's left
  17. land — to come down
  18. bat — the animal
  19. vault — an arched ceiling
  20. squash — the sport
  21. wake — to stop sleeping
  22. court — for sport
  23. vault — a safe
  24. temple — a place of worship

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