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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. The ball is in your ________________.
  2. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  3. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  4. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  5. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  6. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  7. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  8. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  9. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  10. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  11. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  12. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  13. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  14. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  15. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  16. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  17. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  18. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  19. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  20. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  21. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  22. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  23. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  24. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.

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

Answer key

  1. court — for sport
  2. vault — an arched ceiling
  3. pass — a permit
  4. vault — a safe
  5. clip — to cut
  6. pass — to succeed
  7. march — music
  8. mark — a trace
  9. root — of a plant
  10. clip — for paper
  11. safe — out of danger
  12. root — the cause
  13. vault — in gymnastics
  14. safe — out of danger
  15. march — the month
  16. mark — to pay attention
  17. safe — a strongbox
  18. court — of a king
  19. clip — a video
  20. court — of law
  21. mark — a grade
  22. pass — to spend time
  23. march — the month
  24. root — of a word

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