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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. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  2. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  3. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  4. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  5. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  6. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  7. Have you found your soul ________________?
  8. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  9. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  10. Have you met the new head ________________?
  11. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  12. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  13. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  14. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  15. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  16. That was ________________ to happen.
  17. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  18. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  19. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  20. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  21. The ball is in your ________________.
  22. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  23. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  24. Do you need a ________________ with that?

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

Answer key

  1. staff — employees
  2. mate — a friend
  3. kid — child
  4. vault — in gymnastics
  5. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  6. vault — an arched ceiling
  7. mate — a partner
  8. hand — in cards
  9. staff — a stick
  10. coach — a trainer
  11. mate — to breed
  12. coach — pulled by horses
  13. court — of a king
  14. coach — a trainer
  15. vault — a safe
  16. bound — certain
  17. court — of law
  18. bound — tied together
  19. kid — to tease
  20. hand — part of the body
  21. court — for sport
  22. bound — obliged
  23. staff — employees
  24. hand — help

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