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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. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  2. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  3. The ball is in your ________________.
  4. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  5. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  6. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  7. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  8. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  9. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  10. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  11. I'll be taking the ________________.
  12. Did you ________________ the button?
  13. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  14. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  15. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  16. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  17. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  18. That was ________________ to happen.
  19. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  20. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  21. Did you ________________ the meat?
  22. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  23. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  24. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.

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

Answer key

  1. bass — the instrument
  2. vault — a safe
  3. court — for sport
  4. tube — in a tire
  5. vault — in gymnastics
  6. bass — the fish
  7. spring — a coil
  8. season — in sport
  9. spring — of water
  10. tube — a container
  11. tube — the underground
  12. press — to push
  13. season — of the year
  14. spring — the season
  15. vault — an arched ceiling
  16. bound — obliged
  17. court — of law
  18. bound — certain
  19. bound — tied together
  20. bass — low music
  21. season — to add flavour
  22. court — of a king
  23. press — newspapers
  24. press — a publisher

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