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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. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  2. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  3. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  4. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  5. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  6. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  7. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  8. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  9. He was locked up in a ________________.
  10. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  11. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  12. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  13. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  14. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  15. The water is too ________________.
  16. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  17. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  18. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  19. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  20. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  21. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  22. The ball is in your ________________.
  23. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  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. court — of law
  2. cold — the Cold War
  3. chip — for betting
  4. vault — an arched ceiling
  5. cell — a phone
  6. track — a path
  7. scale — size or range
  8. track — to keep track
  9. cell — in a prison
  10. track — a song
  11. chip — in a computer
  12. vault — a safe
  13. bass — low music
  14. court — of a king
  15. cold — not warm
  16. cold — an illness
  17. scale — for weighing
  18. cell — in biology
  19. scale — in music
  20. bass — the fish
  21. bass — the instrument
  22. court — for sport
  23. chip — to eat
  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