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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 ball is in your ________________.
  2. The ________________ market has crashed.
  3. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  4. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  5. She's very handy with a ________________.
  6. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  7. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  8. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  9. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  10. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  11. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  12. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  13. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  14. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  15. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  16. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  17. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  18. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  19. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  20. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  21. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  22. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  23. He works in a ________________ mill.
  24. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.

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

Answer key

  1. court — for sport
  2. stock — shares
  3. vault — in gymnastics
  4. court — of law
  5. saw — the tool
  6. vault — an arched ceiling
  7. vault — a safe
  8. stock — a soup base
  9. race — the arms race
  10. spring — a coil
  11. object — an aim
  12. spring — of water
  13. stock — goods
  14. capital — a city
  15. saw — past of 'see'
  16. race — humankind
  17. court — of a king
  18. race — a contest
  19. spring — the season
  20. capital — a big letter
  21. capital — money
  22. object — to protest
  23. saw — the tool
  24. object — a thing

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