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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 ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  2. The ball is in your ________________.
  3. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  4. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  5. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  6. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  7. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  8. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  9. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  10. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  11. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  12. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  13. Have you met the new head ________________?
  14. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  15. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  16. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  17. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  18. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  19. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  20. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  21. There's no middle ________________.
  22. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  23. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  24. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — for baseball
  2. court — for sport
  3. coach — a trainer
  4. lash — an eyelash
  5. coach — pulled by horses
  6. perch — the fish
  7. vault — a safe
  8. court — of a king
  9. rule — a law
  10. vault — an arched ceiling
  11. lash — to lash out
  12. bat — in an idiom
  13. coach — a trainer
  14. vault — in gymnastics
  15. bat — the animal
  16. rule — government
  17. perch — for a bird
  18. ground — the earth
  19. rule — to rule out
  20. ground — crushed
  21. ground — a position
  22. lash — a whip stroke
  23. perch — for a bird
  24. court — of law

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