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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 120 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. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  2. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  3. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  4. What do you think of the new ________________?
  5. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  6. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  7. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  8. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  9. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  10. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  11. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  12. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  13. Don't do anything ________________.
  14. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  15. The ball is in your ________________.
  16. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  17. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  18. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  19. The water is too ________________.
  20. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  21. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  22. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  23. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  24. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.

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

Answer key

  1. staff — employees
  2. vault — an arched ceiling
  3. rash — a series
  4. cabinet — ministers
  5. racket — a loud noise
  6. racket — for tennis
  7. rash — on the skin
  8. vault — a safe
  9. staff — employees
  10. cold — an illness
  11. cold — the Cold War
  12. racket — for tennis
  13. rash — hasty
  14. cabinet — ministers
  15. court — for sport
  16. perch — for a bird
  17. vault — in gymnastics
  18. court — of law
  19. cold — not warm
  20. perch — the fish
  21. perch — for a bird
  22. staff — a stick
  23. cabinet — a cupboard
  24. court — of a king

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