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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. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  2. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  3. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  4. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  5. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  6. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  7. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  8. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  9. Did you ________________ the meat?
  10. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  11. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  12. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  13. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  14. The ball is in your ________________.
  15. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  16. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  17. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  18. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  19. I'll be taking the ________________.
  20. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  21. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  22. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  23. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  24. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. club — for dancing
  2. season — of the year
  3. lie — to recline
  4. straw — dry grass
  5. vault — a safe
  6. straw — to clutch at straws
  7. season — in sport
  8. court — of law
  9. season — to add flavour
  10. straw — a straw man
  11. lie — an untruth
  12. club — a group
  13. vault — in gymnastics
  14. court — for sport
  15. tube — a container
  16. vault — an arched ceiling
  17. net — after costs
  18. net — for catching
  19. tube — the underground
  20. lie — an untruth
  21. court — of a king
  22. net — in sport
  23. tube — in a tire
  24. club — for golf

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