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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. When will it ________________ you to start?
  2. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  3. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  4. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  5. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  6. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  7. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  8. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  9. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  10. I'll be taking the ________________.
  11. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  12. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  13. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  14. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  15. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  16. The ball is in your ________________.
  17. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  18. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  19. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  20. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  21. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  22. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  23. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  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. suit — to fit
  2. court — of law
  3. court — of a king
  4. straw — dry grass
  5. kick — a thrill
  6. spring — of water
  7. spring — a coil
  8. tube — a container
  9. straw — a straw man
  10. tube — the underground
  11. perch — the fish
  12. tube — in a tire
  13. suit — in cards
  14. perch — for a bird
  15. suit — clothes
  16. court — for sport
  17. straw — to clutch at straws
  18. kick — in football
  19. perch — for a bird
  20. spring — the season
  21. kick — with a leg
  22. vault — an arched ceiling
  23. vault — a safe
  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