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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.

Make a worksheet

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. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  2. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  3. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  4. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  5. That was ________________ to happen.
  6. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  7. We're almost out of ________________.
  8. That must've been a ________________.
  9. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  10. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  11. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  12. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  13. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  14. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  15. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  16. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  17. The ball is in your ________________.
  18. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  19. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  20. You don't need to ________________ round.
  21. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  22. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  23. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  24. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.

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

Answer key

  1. pit — a fruit stone
  2. vault — an arched ceiling
  3. rush — hurry
  4. chair — a leader
  5. bound — certain
  6. degree — an amount
  7. pop — soda
  8. rush — a thrill
  9. rush — to hurry
  10. vault — in gymnastics
  11. chair — a professorship
  12. court — of law
  13. pit — in a race
  14. bound — tied together
  15. bound — obliged
  16. chair — to sit on
  17. court — for sport
  18. degree — temperature
  19. pit — a hole
  20. pop — to visit
  21. vault — a safe
  22. court — of a king
  23. degree — from a university
  24. pop — music

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