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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. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  2. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  3. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  4. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  5. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  6. How do you ________________ your surname?
  7. Don't do anything ________________.
  8. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  9. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  10. The ball is in your ________________.
  11. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  12. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  13. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  14. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  15. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  16. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  17. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  18. My mare is ________________ in color.
  19. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  20. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  21. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  22. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  23. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  24. I seem to be developing a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. spell — magic
  2. vault — an arched ceiling
  3. chair — to sit on
  4. scale — in music
  5. court — of law
  6. spell — letters
  7. rash — hasty
  8. spell — a short time
  9. court — of a king
  10. court — for sport
  11. vault — in gymnastics
  12. chair — a professorship
  13. scale — size or range
  14. rash — a series
  15. clip — a video
  16. scale — for weighing
  17. clip — to cut
  18. bay — a horse colour
  19. clip — for paper
  20. bay — to keep at bay
  21. vault — a safe
  22. bay — a part of the sea
  23. chair — a leader
  24. rash — on the skin

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