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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. The ball is in your ________________.
  2. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  3. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  4. Have you met the new head ________________?
  5. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  6. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  7. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  8. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  9. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  10. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  11. False peace will not ________________.
  12. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  13. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  14. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  15. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  16. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  17. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  18. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  19. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  20. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  21. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  22. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  23. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  24. At ________________, we arrived at the village.

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

Answer key

  1. court — for sport
  2. vault — in gymnastics
  3. shower — a meteor shower
  4. coach — a trainer
  5. wind — moving air
  6. court — of a king
  7. vault — a safe
  8. vault — an arched ceiling
  9. branch — a division
  10. last — final
  11. last — to go on
  12. branch — of a tree
  13. branch — of a bank
  14. court — of law
  15. fine — high quality
  16. wind — to turn a key
  17. shower — rain
  18. fine — all right
  19. fine — a penalty
  20. wind — moving air
  21. coach — pulled by horses
  22. coach — a trainer
  23. shower — to wash
  24. last — finally

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