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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. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  3. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  4. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  5. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  6. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  7. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  8. You don't need to ________________ round.
  9. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  10. We're almost out of ________________.
  11. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  12. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  13. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  14. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  15. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  16. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  17. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  18. He is an ace ________________.
  19. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  20. The ball is in your ________________.
  21. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  22. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  23. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  24. Fill up this ________________ with water.

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

Answer key

  1. court — of a king
  2. pitcher — a jug
  3. chair — to sit on
  4. current — of water
  5. current — happening now
  6. vault — a safe
  7. chair — a professorship
  8. pop — to visit
  9. current — electric
  10. pop — soda
  11. mine — an explosive
  12. bark — to shout
  13. mine — belonging to me
  14. chair — a leader
  15. pop — music
  16. bark — a dog's sound
  17. court — of law
  18. pitcher — in baseball
  19. mine — for digging
  20. court — for sport
  21. vault — in gymnastics
  22. vault — an arched ceiling
  23. bark — of a tree
  24. pitcher — a jug

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