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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. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  2. The ball is in your ________________.
  3. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  4. It's one o'clock ________________.
  5. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  6. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  7. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  8. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  9. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  10. Did you ________________ the meat?
  11. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  12. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  13. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  14. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  15. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  16. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  17. That was ________________ to happen.
  18. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  19. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  20. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  21. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  22. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  23. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  24. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. file — a line of people
  2. court — for sport
  3. drill — the tool
  4. sharp — exactly
  5. bat — for baseball
  6. court — of a king
  7. file — a document
  8. bound — tied together
  9. season — of the year
  10. season — to add flavour
  11. drill — a practice
  12. sharp — clever
  13. vault — a safe
  14. bat — the animal
  15. court — of law
  16. vault — in gymnastics
  17. bound — certain
  18. bound — obliged
  19. season — in sport
  20. bat — in an idiom
  21. drill — army training
  22. vault — an arched ceiling
  23. sharp — with an edge
  24. file — a tool

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