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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. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  2. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  3. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  4. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  5. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  6. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  7. Don't do anything ________________.
  8. False peace will not ________________.
  9. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  10. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  11. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  12. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  13. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  14. The ball is in your ________________.
  15. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  16. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  17. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  18. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  19. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  20. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  21. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  22. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  23. I can't ________________ this cold.
  24. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.

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

Answer key

  1. court — of a king
  2. last — final
  3. rash — on the skin
  4. last — finally
  5. court — of law
  6. row — a quarrel
  7. rash — hasty
  8. last — to go on
  9. vault — in gymnastics
  10. snap — to click
  11. row — a line
  12. snap — to snap out of it
  13. spring — the season
  14. court — for sport
  15. stand — for spectators
  16. vault — a safe
  17. vault — an arched ceiling
  18. stand — on your feet
  19. row — to paddle
  20. snap — to speak sharply
  21. spring — a coil
  22. spring — of water
  23. stand — to bear
  24. rash — a series

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