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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 116 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 ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  2. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  3. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  4. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  5. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  6. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  7. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  8. Have you found your soul ________________?
  9. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  10. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  11. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  12. The ball is in your ________________.
  13. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  14. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  15. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  16. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  17. There's no middle ________________.
  18. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  19. This piece is in a major ________________.
  20. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  21. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  22. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  23. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  24. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?

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

Answer key

  1. court — of law
  2. mate — to breed
  3. vault — a safe
  4. wake — a trail
  5. wake — to stop sleeping
  6. bat — for baseball
  7. ground — crushed
  8. mate — a partner
  9. key — for a lock
  10. court — of a king
  11. bat — the animal
  12. court — for sport
  13. vault — an arched ceiling
  14. shower — rain
  15. wake — before a funeral
  16. key — the most important part
  17. ground — a position
  18. shower — a meteor shower
  19. key — in music
  20. shower — to wash
  21. vault — in gymnastics
  22. bat — in an idiom
  23. ground — the earth
  24. mate — a friend

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