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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. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  3. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  4. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  5. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  6. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  7. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  8. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  9. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  10. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  11. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  12. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  13. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  14. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  15. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  16. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  17. The ball is in your ________________.
  18. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  19. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  20. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  21. When was this ________________ built?
  22. He was locked up in a ________________.
  23. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  24. Hold the papers together with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. court — of law
  2. temple — a place of worship
  3. vault — an arched ceiling
  4. vault — in gymnastics
  5. rule — to rule out
  6. bass — the instrument
  7. bass — the fish
  8. rule — a law
  9. temple — side of the head
  10. cell — a phone
  11. clip — a video
  12. vault — a safe
  13. clip — to cut
  14. kid — to tease
  15. cell — in biology
  16. bass — low music
  17. court — for sport
  18. court — of a king
  19. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  20. rule — government
  21. temple — a place of worship
  22. cell — in a prison
  23. kid — child
  24. clip — for paper

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