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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 124 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 ball is in your ________________.
  2. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  3. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  4. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  5. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  6. That must've been a ________________.
  7. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  8. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  9. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  10. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  11. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  12. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  13. I'll be taking the ________________.
  14. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  15. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  16. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  17. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  18. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  19. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  20. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  21. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  22. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  23. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  24. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.

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

Answer key

  1. court — for sport
  2. hand — in cards
  3. vault — in gymnastics
  4. fork — a garden tool
  5. tube — a container
  6. rush — a thrill
  7. tube — in a tire
  8. rush — to hurry
  9. court — of a king
  10. vault — a safe
  11. hand — help
  12. court — of law
  13. tube — the underground
  14. rush — hurry
  15. fork — to eat with
  16. stick — a piece of wood
  17. hand — part of the body
  18. stick — a piece of wood
  19. fork — in a road
  20. wound — past of 'wind'
  21. stick — to attach or keep to
  22. vault — an arched ceiling
  23. wound — an injury
  24. wound — an injury

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