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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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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: court · vault · pop · press · race · rock

  1. You don't need to ________________ round.
  2. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  3. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  4. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  5. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  6. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  7. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  8. The ball is in your ________________.
  9. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  10. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  11. Did you ________________ the button?
  12. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  13. We're almost out of ________________.
  14. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  15. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  16. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  17. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  18. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.

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

Answer key

  1. pop — to visit
  2. rock — a stone
  3. rock — to move gently
  4. vault — in gymnastics
  5. rock — music
  6. race — humankind
  7. court — of law
  8. court — for sport
  9. vault — a safe
  10. race — the arms race
  11. press — to push
  12. race — a contest
  13. pop — soda
  14. press — a publisher
  15. press — newspapers
  16. vault — an arched ceiling
  17. court — of a king
  18. pop — music

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