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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: court · vault · bay · season · squash · bear · hand · present

  1. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  2. Did you ________________ the meat?
  3. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  4. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  5. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  6. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  7. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  8. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  9. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  10. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  11. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  12. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  13. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  14. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  15. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  16. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  17. My mare is ________________ in color.
  18. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  19. The ball is in your ________________.
  20. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  21. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  22. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  23. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  24. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.

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

Answer key

  1. court — of a king
  2. season — to add flavour
  3. bear — to put up with
  4. vault — an arched ceiling
  5. vault — a safe
  6. squash — to crush
  7. court — of law
  8. vault — in gymnastics
  9. season — in sport
  10. bear — the animal
  11. hand — in cards
  12. present — a gift
  13. squash — the sport
  14. bear — the animal
  15. squash — the vegetable
  16. hand — help
  17. bay — a horse colour
  18. season — of the year
  19. court — for sport
  20. bay — to keep at bay
  21. bay — a part of the sea
  22. hand — part of the body
  23. present — the time now
  24. present — there

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