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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. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  2. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  3. The ball is in your ________________.
  4. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  5. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  6. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  7. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  8. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  9. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  10. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  11. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  12. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  13. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  14. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  15. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  16. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  17. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  18. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  19. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  20. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  21. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  22. What do you think of the new ________________?
  23. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  24. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.

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

Answer key

  1. court — of a king
  2. spring — of water
  3. court — for sport
  4. rest — a break
  5. clip — for paper
  6. clip — to cut
  7. pound — to hit hard
  8. vault — a safe
  9. cabinet — a cupboard
  10. court — of law
  11. patient — a sick person
  12. patient — a sick person
  13. spring — the season
  14. vault — in gymnastics
  15. rest — what's left
  16. spring — a coil
  17. cabinet — ministers
  18. pound — for dogs
  19. patient — calm and waiting
  20. rest — what's left
  21. clip — a video
  22. cabinet — ministers
  23. vault — an arched ceiling
  24. pound — a weight

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