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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. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  2. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  3. He is an ace ________________.
  4. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  5. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  6. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  7. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  8. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  9. The ball is in your ________________.
  10. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  11. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  12. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  13. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  14. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  15. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  16. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  17. The water is too ________________.
  18. This piece is in a major ________________.
  19. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  20. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  21. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  22. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  23. Have you found your soul ________________?
  24. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — a jug
  2. cold — an illness
  3. pitcher — in baseball
  4. mine — an explosive
  5. key — for a lock
  6. pitcher — a jug
  7. vault — a safe
  8. court — of law
  9. court — for sport
  10. court — of a king
  11. vault — an arched ceiling
  12. mate — to breed
  13. key — the most important part
  14. mine — belonging to me
  15. mine — for digging
  16. trunk — of a car
  17. cold — not warm
  18. key — in music
  19. cold — the Cold War
  20. mate — a friend
  21. vault — in gymnastics
  22. trunk — of an elephant
  23. mate — a partner
  24. trunk — 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