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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 116 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. He was locked up in a ________________.
  2. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  3. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  4. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  5. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  6. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  7. Did you ________________ the meat?
  8. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  9. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  10. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  11. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  12. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  13. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  14. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  15. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  16. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  17. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  18. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  19. The ball is in your ________________.
  20. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  21. When are we going to ________________?
  22. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  23. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  24. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cell — in a prison
  2. court — of a king
  3. rock — music
  4. season — of the year
  5. land — a country
  6. object — a thing
  7. season — to add flavour
  8. object — an aim
  9. court — of law
  10. object — to protest
  11. clip — a video
  12. clip — for paper
  13. vault — a safe
  14. cell — a phone
  15. clip — to cut
  16. rock — a stone
  17. rock — to move gently
  18. cell — in biology
  19. court — for sport
  20. season — in sport
  21. land — to come down
  22. vault — an arched ceiling
  23. vault — in gymnastics
  24. land — ground

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