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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. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  3. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  4. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  5. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  6. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  7. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  8. False peace will not ________________.
  9. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  10. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  11. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  12. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  13. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  14. You don't need to ________________ round.
  15. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  16. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  17. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  18. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  19. The ball is in your ________________.
  20. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  21. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  22. We're almost out of ________________.
  23. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  24. There's no middle ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. court — of law
  2. rest — what's left
  3. last — final
  4. pop — music
  5. prune — to trim
  6. rest — a break
  7. prune — to trim
  8. last — to go on
  9. vault — an arched ceiling
  10. chair — to sit on
  11. rest — what's left
  12. chair — a professorship
  13. vault — in gymnastics
  14. pop — to visit
  15. chair — a leader
  16. ground — crushed
  17. court — of a king
  18. prune — the fruit
  19. court — for sport
  20. last — finally
  21. vault — a safe
  22. pop — soda
  23. ground — the earth
  24. ground — a position

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