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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. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  2. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  3. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  4. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  5. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  6. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  7. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  8. The ball is in your ________________.
  9. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  10. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  11. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  12. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  13. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  14. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  15. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  16. That was a fun ________________.
  17. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  18. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  19. Did you ________________ the meat?
  20. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  21. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  22. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  23. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  24. It's one o'clock ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. vault — a safe
  2. lean — thin
  3. root — of a word
  4. bowl — a dish
  5. vault — in gymnastics
  6. root — the cause
  7. lean — to rest against
  8. court — for sport
  9. court — of a king
  10. bowl — a football final
  11. vault — an arched ceiling
  12. game — wild animals
  13. season — of the year
  14. bowl — to roll
  15. sharp — with an edge
  16. game — a match
  17. court — of law
  18. lean — to bend
  19. season — to add flavour
  20. game — a kind of play
  21. season — in sport
  22. sharp — clever
  23. root — of a plant
  24. sharp — exactly

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