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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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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: race · vault · sharp · last · pop · bore · pass · court

  1. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  2. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  3. You don't need to ________________ round.
  4. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  5. It's one o'clock ________________.
  6. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  7. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  8. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  9. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  10. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  11. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  12. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  13. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  14. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  15. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  16. The ball is in your ________________.
  17. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  18. False peace will not ________________.
  19. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  20. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  21. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  22. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  23. We're almost out of ________________.
  24. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.

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

Answer key

  1. pop — music
  2. court — of a king
  3. pop — to visit
  4. bore — to drill
  5. sharp — exactly
  6. court — of law
  7. pass — a permit
  8. pass — to spend time
  9. race — a contest
  10. sharp — clever
  11. vault — a safe
  12. bore — to tire
  13. vault — an arched ceiling
  14. race — humankind
  15. sharp — with an edge
  16. court — for sport
  17. last — final
  18. last — to go on
  19. last — finally
  20. bore — gave birth
  21. pass — to succeed
  22. race — the arms race
  23. pop — soda
  24. vault — in gymnastics

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