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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. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  2. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  3. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  4. David sat on the ________________.
  5. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  6. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  7. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  8. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  9. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  10. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  11. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  12. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  13. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  14. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  15. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  16. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  17. False peace will not ________________.
  18. The ball is in your ________________.
  19. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  20. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  21. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  22. Have you met the new head ________________?
  23. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  24. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — for baseball
  2. vault — an arched ceiling
  3. bat — the animal
  4. swing — to play on
  5. pitch — a sports field
  6. bore — to drill
  7. last — final
  8. last — finally
  9. coach — a trainer
  10. coach — pulled by horses
  11. vault — in gymnastics
  12. vault — a safe
  13. pitch — a sales talk
  14. bore — to tire
  15. swing — in golf
  16. bore — gave birth
  17. last — to go on
  18. court — for sport
  19. swing — music
  20. court — of law
  21. bat — in an idiom
  22. coach — a trainer
  23. court — of a king
  24. pitch — completely

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