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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. We're on a ________________ here.
  2. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  3. The ball is in your ________________.
  4. I'll be taking the ________________.
  5. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  6. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  7. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  8. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  9. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  10. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  11. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  12. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  13. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  14. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  15. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  16. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  17. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  18. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  19. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  20. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  21. He is an ace ________________.
  22. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  23. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  24. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.

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

Answer key

  1. roll — on a roll
  2. roll — a list
  3. court — for sport
  4. tube — the underground
  5. tube — a container
  6. vault — a safe
  7. pitcher — a jug
  8. wake — to stop sleeping
  9. court — of law
  10. spring — the season
  11. wake — before a funeral
  12. fan — to cool the air
  13. tube — in a tire
  14. roll — a cake
  15. spring — of water
  16. spring — a coil
  17. pitcher — a jug
  18. wake — a trail
  19. fan — a supporter
  20. vault — in gymnastics
  21. pitcher — in baseball
  22. fan — a supporter
  23. vault — an arched ceiling
  24. court — of a king

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