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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. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  2. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  3. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  4. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  5. That was ________________ to happen.
  6. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  7. False peace will not ________________.
  8. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  9. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  10. The ball is in your ________________.
  11. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  12. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  13. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  14. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  15. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  16. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  17. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  18. Did you ________________ the meat?
  19. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  20. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  21. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  22. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  23. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  24. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.

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

Answer key

  1. fan — a supporter
  2. last — finally
  3. last — final
  4. bound — obliged
  5. bound — certain
  6. court — of law
  7. last — to go on
  8. club — for golf
  9. season — in sport
  10. court — for sport
  11. vault — an arched ceiling
  12. fan — to cool the air
  13. vault — a safe
  14. scale — for weighing
  15. scale — size or range
  16. fan — a supporter
  17. club — for dancing
  18. season — to add flavour
  19. season — of the year
  20. vault — in gymnastics
  21. court — of a king
  22. scale — in music
  23. bound — tied together
  24. club — a group

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