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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. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  2. The ball is in your ________________.
  3. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  4. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  5. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  6. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  7. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  8. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  9. The water is too ________________.
  10. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  11. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  12. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  13. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  14. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  15. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  16. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  17. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  18. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  19. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  20. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  21. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  22. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  23. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  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. object — an aim
  2. court — for sport
  3. court — of law
  4. club — a group
  5. file — a document
  6. court — of a king
  7. file — a tool
  8. perch — for a bird
  9. cold — not warm
  10. perch — for a bird
  11. cold — an illness
  12. object — to protest
  13. vault — in gymnastics
  14. file — a line of people
  15. kick — a thrill
  16. kick — in football
  17. club — for dancing
  18. object — a thing
  19. vault — a safe
  20. cold — the Cold War
  21. perch — the fish
  22. vault — an arched ceiling
  23. kick — with a leg
  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