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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. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  2. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  3. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  4. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  5. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  6. What do you think of the new ________________?
  7. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  8. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  9. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  10. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  11. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  12. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  13. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  14. When are we going to ________________?
  15. The ________________ market has crashed.
  16. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  17. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  18. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  19. The ball is in your ________________.
  20. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  21. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  22. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  23. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  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 a king
  2. lean — thin
  3. vault — a safe
  4. spring — the season
  5. cabinet — ministers
  6. cabinet — ministers
  7. cabinet — a cupboard
  8. spring — of water
  9. file — a document
  10. stock — goods
  11. file — a line of people
  12. vault — an arched ceiling
  13. land — a country
  14. land — to come down
  15. stock — shares
  16. stock — a soup base
  17. spring — a coil
  18. land — ground
  19. court — for sport
  20. lean — to bend
  21. lean — to rest against
  22. file — a tool
  23. court — of law
  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