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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.

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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. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  2. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  3. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  4. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  5. The water is too ________________.
  6. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  7. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  8. He works in a ________________ mill.
  9. Don't do anything ________________.
  10. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  11. She's very handy with a ________________.
  12. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  13. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  14. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  15. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  16. The ball is in your ________________.
  17. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  18. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  19. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  20. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  21. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  22. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  23. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  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. bowl — a football final
  2. court — of a king
  3. rule — government
  4. bowl — a dish
  5. cold — not warm
  6. vault — a safe
  7. content — the amount
  8. saw — the tool
  9. rash — hasty
  10. rule — a law
  11. saw — the tool
  12. cold — an illness
  13. rash — on the skin
  14. cold — the Cold War
  15. vault — in gymnastics
  16. court — for sport
  17. content — happy
  18. saw — past of 'see'
  19. rule — to rule out
  20. bowl — to roll
  21. vault — an arched ceiling
  22. content — videos and posts
  23. rash — a series
  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