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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. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  2. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  3. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  4. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  5. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  6. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  7. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  8. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  9. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  10. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  11. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  12. The ________________ went through the wall.
  13. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  14. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  15. The ball is in your ________________.
  16. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  17. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  18. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  19. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  20. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  21. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  22. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  23. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  24. The ________________ change colour in autumn.

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

Answer key

  1. nail — on a finger
  2. vault — an arched ceiling
  3. court — of law
  4. kid — to tease
  5. court — of a king
  6. leaves — lets stay
  7. band — a rubber band
  8. hand — in cards
  9. vault — a safe
  10. band — a ring
  11. hand — help
  12. nail — for a hammer
  13. hand — part of the body
  14. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  15. court — for sport
  16. fork — a garden tool
  17. fork — to eat with
  18. nail — for a hammer
  19. vault — in gymnastics
  20. leaves — to go away
  21. fork — in a road
  22. kid — child
  23. band — a music group
  24. leaves — of a tree

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