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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. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  2. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  3. The ball is in your ________________.
  4. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  5. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  6. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  7. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  8. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  9. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  10. Don't do anything ________________.
  11. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  12. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  13. This piece is in a major ________________.
  14. That was a fun ________________.
  15. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  16. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  17. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  18. When are we going to ________________?
  19. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  20. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  21. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  22. I can't ________________ this cold.
  23. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  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 law
  2. land — a country
  3. court — for sport
  4. game — wild animals
  5. vault — a safe
  6. content — happy
  7. content — videos and posts
  8. game — a kind of play
  9. key — for a lock
  10. rash — hasty
  11. vault — in gymnastics
  12. vault — an arched ceiling
  13. key — in music
  14. game — a match
  15. court — of a king
  16. land — ground
  17. rash — on the skin
  18. land — to come down
  19. content — the amount
  20. stand — for spectators
  21. key — the most important part
  22. stand — to bear
  23. stand — on your feet
  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