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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. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  2. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  3. The ball is in your ________________.
  4. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  5. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  6. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  7. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  8. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  9. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  10. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  11. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  12. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  13. False peace will not ________________.
  14. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  15. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  16. The King held a masked ________________.
  17. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  18. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  19. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  20. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  21. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  22. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  23. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  24. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — a dish
  2. last — final
  3. court — for sport
  4. foot — the bottom
  5. ball — a round shape
  6. foot — part of the body
  7. scale — for weighing
  8. bowl — a football final
  9. court — of law
  10. vault — a safe
  11. scale — size or range
  12. face — to confront
  13. last — to go on
  14. court — of a king
  15. bowl — to roll
  16. ball — a dance
  17. last — finally
  18. vault — in gymnastics
  19. vault — an arched ceiling
  20. foot — a measure
  21. scale — in music
  22. face — to point toward
  23. face — part of the head
  24. ball — a great time

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