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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. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  2. The ball is in your ________________.
  3. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  4. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  5. How do you ________________ your surname?
  6. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  7. What do you think of the new ________________?
  8. I'll be taking the ________________.
  9. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  10. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  11. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  12. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  13. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  14. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  15. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  16. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  17. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  18. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  19. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  20. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  21. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  22. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  23. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  24. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.

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

Answer key

  1. rock — music
  2. court — for sport
  3. vault — an arched ceiling
  4. court — of law
  5. spell — letters
  6. vault — a safe
  7. cabinet — ministers
  8. tube — the underground
  9. spell — a short time
  10. rock — a stone
  11. bark — of a tree
  12. spell — magic
  13. tube — a container
  14. rock — to move gently
  15. bark — a dog's sound
  16. tube — in a tire
  17. bark — to shout
  18. current — of water
  19. current — electric
  20. cabinet — ministers
  21. court — of a king
  22. cabinet — a cupboard
  23. current — happening now
  24. vault — in gymnastics

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