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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. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  3. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  4. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  5. The tickets are free of ________________.
  6. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  7. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  8. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  9. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  10. The ________________ market has crashed.
  11. It's one o'clock ________________.
  12. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  13. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  14. The King held a masked ________________.
  15. The ball is in your ________________.
  16. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  17. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  18. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  19. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  20. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  21. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  22. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  23. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  24. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.

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

Answer key

  1. court — of a king
  2. clip — a video
  3. prune — to trim
  4. prune — to trim
  5. charge — a price
  6. vault — a safe
  7. vault — an arched ceiling
  8. ball — a round shape
  9. clip — to cut
  10. stock — shares
  11. sharp — exactly
  12. ball — a great time
  13. clip — for paper
  14. ball — a dance
  15. court — for sport
  16. sharp — with an edge
  17. sharp — clever
  18. vault — in gymnastics
  19. stock — a soup base
  20. prune — the fruit
  21. charge — in control
  22. charge — electricity
  23. stock — goods
  24. court — of law

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