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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. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  2. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  3. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  4. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  5. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  6. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  7. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  8. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  9. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  10. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  11. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  12. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  13. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  14. The ball is in your ________________.
  15. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  16. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  17. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  18. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  19. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  20. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  21. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  22. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  23. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  24. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.

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

Answer key

  1. cap — a hat
  2. club — for dancing
  3. court — of a king
  4. board — to get on
  5. club — a group
  6. wax — in the ear
  7. board — a flat piece
  8. perch — for a bird
  9. race — a contest
  10. race — humankind
  11. vault — an arched ceiling
  12. vault — a safe
  13. court — of law
  14. court — for sport
  15. board — a committee
  16. cap — of ice
  17. perch — the fish
  18. race — the arms race
  19. club — for golf
  20. perch — for a bird
  21. cap — a lid
  22. wax — for sculpting
  23. wax — to grow
  24. vault — in gymnastics

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