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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. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  2. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  3. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  4. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  5. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  6. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  7. The ball is in your ________________.
  8. It's one o'clock ________________.
  9. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  10. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  11. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  12. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  13. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  14. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  15. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  16. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  17. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  18. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  19. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  20. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  21. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  22. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  23. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  24. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.

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

Answer key

  1. vault — a safe
  2. mark — to pay attention
  3. mark — a trace
  4. vault — an arched ceiling
  5. capital — a big letter
  6. vault — in gymnastics
  7. court — for sport
  8. sharp — exactly
  9. court — of a king
  10. court — of law
  11. capital — money
  12. sharp — clever
  13. march — the month
  14. bat — for baseball
  15. content — videos and posts
  16. sharp — with an edge
  17. bat — the animal
  18. content — happy
  19. capital — a city
  20. bat — in an idiom
  21. mark — a grade
  22. march — music
  23. content — the amount
  24. march — the month

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