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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. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  2. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  3. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  4. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  5. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  6. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  7. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  8. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  9. The ________________ took off on time.
  10. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  11. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  12. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  13. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  14. The ball is in your ________________.
  15. The water is too ________________.
  16. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  17. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  18. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  19. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  20. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  21. That was ________________ to happen.
  22. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  23. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  24. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.

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

Answer key

  1. court — of a king
  2. present — a gift
  3. band — a music group
  4. bound — tied together
  5. band — a rubber band
  6. cold — the Cold War
  7. plane — in geometry
  8. present — the time now
  9. plane — an aircraft
  10. vault — a safe
  11. present — there
  12. cold — an illness
  13. bound — obliged
  14. court — for sport
  15. cold — not warm
  16. vault — in gymnastics
  17. court — of law
  18. bowl — a dish
  19. band — a ring
  20. bowl — to roll
  21. bound — certain
  22. vault — an arched ceiling
  23. plane — a tool
  24. bowl — a football final

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