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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: pop · season · bay · straw · kick · vault · clip · court

  1. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  2. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  3. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  4. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  5. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  6. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  7. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  8. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  9. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  10. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  11. We're almost out of ________________.
  12. My mare is ________________ in color.
  13. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  14. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  15. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  16. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  17. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  18. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  19. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  20. The ball is in your ________________.
  21. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  22. You don't need to ________________ round.
  23. Did you ________________ the meat?
  24. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. court — of a king
  2. vault — an arched ceiling
  3. straw — a straw man
  4. bay — a part of the sea
  5. season — of the year
  6. straw — to clutch at straws
  7. vault — in gymnastics
  8. pop — music
  9. court — of law
  10. kick — in football
  11. pop — soda
  12. bay — a horse colour
  13. kick — a thrill
  14. season — in sport
  15. clip — a video
  16. kick — with a leg
  17. straw — dry grass
  18. clip — for paper
  19. bay — to keep at bay
  20. court — for sport
  21. clip — to cut
  22. pop — to visit
  23. season — to add flavour
  24. vault — a safe

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