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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. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  3. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  4. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  5. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  6. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  7. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  8. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  9. The ball is in your ________________.
  10. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  11. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  12. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  13. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  14. I'll be taking the ________________.
  15. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  16. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  17. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  18. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  19. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  20. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  21. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  22. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  23. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  24. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.

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

Answer key

  1. court — of a king
  2. current — of water
  3. vault — in gymnastics
  4. kick — a thrill
  5. vault — a safe
  6. clip — a video
  7. kick — with a leg
  8. deal — a big deal
  9. court — for sport
  10. deal — to handle
  11. deal — an agreement
  12. current — electric
  13. tube — in a tire
  14. tube — the underground
  15. clip — to cut
  16. kick — in football
  17. craft — a skill
  18. court — of law
  19. current — happening now
  20. clip — for paper
  21. craft — a handicraft
  22. craft — boats
  23. vault — an arched ceiling
  24. tube — a container

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