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

Word bank: court · vault · season · kid · racket · straw · cue · pass

  1. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  2. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  3. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  4. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  5. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  6. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  7. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  8. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  9. The ball is in your ________________.
  10. Did you ________________ the meat?
  11. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  12. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  13. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  14. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  15. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  16. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  17. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  18. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  19. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  20. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  21. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  22. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  23. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  24. You can't go backstage without a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. racket — for tennis
  2. cue — a hint
  3. kid — child
  4. straw — dry grass
  5. pass — to succeed
  6. racket — a loud noise
  7. kid — to tease
  8. vault — a safe
  9. court — for sport
  10. season — to add flavour
  11. season — of the year
  12. cue — a signal
  13. court — of law
  14. cue — for pool
  15. racket — for tennis
  16. vault — an arched ceiling
  17. season — in sport
  18. pass — to spend time
  19. vault — in gymnastics
  20. straw — a straw man
  21. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  22. straw — to clutch at straws
  23. court — of a king
  24. pass — a permit

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