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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. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  2. The ball is in your ________________.
  3. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  4. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  5. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  6. He was locked up in a ________________.
  7. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  8. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  9. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  10. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  11. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  12. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  13. Have you met the new head ________________?
  14. Did you ________________ the button?
  15. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  16. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  17. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  18. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  19. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  20. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  21. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  22. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  23. The ________________ went through the wall.
  24. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.

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

Answer key

  1. court — of law
  2. court — for sport
  3. court — of a king
  4. press — newspapers
  5. nail — for a hammer
  6. cell — in a prison
  7. vault — an arched ceiling
  8. vault — in gymnastics
  9. coach — pulled by horses
  10. press — a publisher
  11. clip — a video
  12. capital — a city
  13. coach — a trainer
  14. press — to push
  15. nail — on a finger
  16. cell — in biology
  17. clip — to cut
  18. cell — a phone
  19. vault — a safe
  20. capital — a big letter
  21. clip — for paper
  22. capital — money
  23. nail — for a hammer
  24. coach — a trainer

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