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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. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  2. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  3. False peace will not ________________.
  4. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  5. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  6. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  7. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  8. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  9. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  10. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  11. That was a fun ________________.
  12. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  13. The ball is in your ________________.
  14. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  15. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  16. It's one o'clock ________________.
  17. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  18. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  19. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  20. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  21. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  22. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  23. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  24. I had a ________________ with my boss today.

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

Answer key

  1. court — of a king
  2. vault — an arched ceiling
  3. last — to go on
  4. sharp — clever
  5. board — to get on
  6. court — of law
  7. sharp — with an edge
  8. board — a flat piece
  9. mark — a grade
  10. vault — in gymnastics
  11. game — a match
  12. last — final
  13. court — for sport
  14. last — finally
  15. vault — a safe
  16. sharp — exactly
  17. mark — a trace
  18. row — to paddle
  19. row — a line
  20. board — a committee
  21. mark — to pay attention
  22. game — a kind of play
  23. game — wild animals
  24. row — a quarrel

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