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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 116 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. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  2. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  3. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  4. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  5. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  6. False peace will not ________________.
  7. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  8. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  9. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  10. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  11. The ball is in your ________________.
  12. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  13. He was locked up in a ________________.
  14. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  15. The ________________ market has crashed.
  16. The King held a masked ________________.
  17. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  18. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  19. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  20. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  21. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  22. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  23. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  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 law
  2. row — to paddle
  3. row — a line
  4. vault — a safe
  5. prune — the fruit
  6. last — to go on
  7. ball — a great time
  8. last — finally
  9. row — a quarrel
  10. prune — to trim
  11. court — for sport
  12. court — of a king
  13. cell — in a prison
  14. stock — goods
  15. stock — shares
  16. ball — a dance
  17. cell — a phone
  18. vault — in gymnastics
  19. last — final
  20. prune — to trim
  21. stock — a soup base
  22. ball — a round shape
  23. cell — in biology
  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