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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. The ball is in your ________________.
  2. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  3. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  4. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  5. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  6. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  7. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  8. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  9. That was a fun ________________.
  10. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  11. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  12. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  13. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  14. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  15. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  16. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  17. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  18. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  19. She's very handy with a ________________.
  20. He works in a ________________ mill.
  21. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  22. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  23. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  24. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.

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

Answer key

  1. court — for sport
  2. vault — an arched ceiling
  3. game — a kind of play
  4. court — of a king
  5. scale — in music
  6. vault — in gymnastics
  7. rest — a break
  8. dip — to sink
  9. game — a match
  10. dip — a sauce
  11. dip — to dunk
  12. game — wild animals
  13. bat — for baseball
  14. saw — past of 'see'
  15. bat — in an idiom
  16. vault — a safe
  17. rest — what's left
  18. rest — what's left
  19. saw — the tool
  20. saw — the tool
  21. scale — size or range
  22. court — of law
  23. scale — for weighing
  24. bat — the animal

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