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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 124 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. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  2. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  3. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  4. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  5. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  6. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  7. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  8. The ball is in your ________________.
  9. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  10. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  11. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  12. Did you ________________ the button?
  13. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  14. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  15. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  16. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  17. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  18. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  19. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  20. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  21. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  22. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  23. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  24. I'd like to play a game of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fine — a penalty
  2. vault — a safe
  3. fine — high quality
  4. bat — the animal
  5. wax — to grow
  6. court — of law
  7. bat — for baseball
  8. court — for sport
  9. squash — to crush
  10. wax — for sculpting
  11. press — a publisher
  12. press — to push
  13. press — newspapers
  14. vault — in gymnastics
  15. vault — an arched ceiling
  16. wound — an injury
  17. wound — an injury
  18. court — of a king
  19. wax — in the ear
  20. bat — in an idiom
  21. fine — all right
  22. squash — the vegetable
  23. wound — past of 'wind'
  24. squash — the sport

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