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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. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  2. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  3. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  4. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  5. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  6. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  7. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  8. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  9. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  10. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  11. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  12. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  13. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  14. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  15. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  16. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  17. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  18. When are we going to ________________?
  19. The ball is in your ________________.
  20. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  21. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  22. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  23. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  24. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?

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

Answer key

  1. court — of a king
  2. vault — in gymnastics
  3. band — a ring
  4. file — a document
  5. fall — to drop
  6. file — a tool
  7. fan — to cool the air
  8. fall — the season
  9. court — of law
  10. fall — to drop
  11. fan — a supporter
  12. band — a rubber band
  13. vault — an arched ceiling
  14. band — a music group
  15. trunk — of a tree
  16. trunk — of an elephant
  17. file — a line of people
  18. land — to come down
  19. court — for sport
  20. land — a country
  21. land — ground
  22. vault — a safe
  23. trunk — of a car
  24. fan — a supporter

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