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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. My mare is ________________ in color.
  2. The ball is in your ________________.
  3. Don't do anything ________________.
  4. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  5. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  6. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  7. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  8. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  9. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  10. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  11. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  12. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  13. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  14. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  15. It's one o'clock ________________.
  16. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  17. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  18. Did you ________________ the meat?
  19. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  20. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  21. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  22. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  23. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  24. Spring is a pleasant ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bay — a horse colour
  2. court — for sport
  3. rash — hasty
  4. vault — in gymnastics
  5. rash — on the skin
  6. bay — a part of the sea
  7. pitch — completely
  8. sharp — clever
  9. vault — a safe
  10. court — of a king
  11. pitch — a sales talk
  12. rash — a series
  13. shower — to wash
  14. bay — to keep at bay
  15. sharp — exactly
  16. shower — rain
  17. shower — a meteor shower
  18. season — to add flavour
  19. season — in sport
  20. sharp — with an edge
  21. court — of law
  22. pitch — a sports field
  23. vault — an arched ceiling
  24. season — of the year

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