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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. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  2. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  3. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  4. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  5. Did you ________________ the meat?
  6. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  7. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  8. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  9. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  10. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  11. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  12. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  13. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  14. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  15. Where did you ________________ them?
  16. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  17. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  18. The ball is in your ________________.
  19. He is an ace ________________.
  20. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  21. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  22. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  23. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  24. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.

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

Answer key

  1. fine — high quality
  2. season — of the year
  3. kid — to tease
  4. fine — a penalty
  5. season — to add flavour
  6. vault — a safe
  7. mug — a cup
  8. court — of law
  9. pitcher — a jug
  10. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  11. fine — all right
  12. present — there
  13. vault — in gymnastics
  14. kid — child
  15. mug — to rob
  16. present — a gift
  17. season — in sport
  18. court — for sport
  19. pitcher — in baseball
  20. court — of a king
  21. pitcher — a jug
  22. mug — a face
  23. vault — an arched ceiling
  24. present — the time now

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