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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. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  2. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  3. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  4. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  5. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  6. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  7. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  8. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  9. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  10. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  11. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  12. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  13. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  14. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  15. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  16. Did you ________________ the button?
  17. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  18. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  19. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  20. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  21. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  22. We're on a ________________ here.
  23. The ball is in your ________________.
  24. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.

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

Answer key

  1. court — of a king
  2. roll — a list
  3. court — of law
  4. trunk — of a tree
  5. wind — moving air
  6. clip — for paper
  7. wind — to turn a key
  8. vault — a safe
  9. trunk — of an elephant
  10. wind — moving air
  11. board — to get on
  12. press — newspapers
  13. clip — to cut
  14. board — a committee
  15. trunk — of a car
  16. press — to push
  17. board — a flat piece
  18. press — a publisher
  19. clip — a video
  20. vault — in gymnastics
  21. roll — a cake
  22. roll — on a roll
  23. court — for sport
  24. vault — an arched ceiling

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