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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. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  2. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  3. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  4. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  5. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  6. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  7. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  8. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  9. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  10. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  11. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  12. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  13. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  14. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  15. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  16. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  17. False peace will not ________________.
  18. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  19. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  20. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  21. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  22. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  23. The ball is in your ________________.
  24. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.

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

Answer key

  1. pound — to hit hard
  2. vault — a safe
  3. kick — in football
  4. last — final
  5. vault — in gymnastics
  6. bat — the animal
  7. rule — to rule out
  8. kick — a thrill
  9. bat — for baseball
  10. pound — a weight
  11. bat — in an idiom
  12. row — a quarrel
  13. row — to paddle
  14. last — finally
  15. kick — with a leg
  16. rule — a law
  17. last — to go on
  18. court — of law
  19. row — a line
  20. pound — for dogs
  21. vault — an arched ceiling
  22. rule — government
  23. court — for sport
  24. court — of a king

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