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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: hide · racket · vault · roll · sharp · court · snap · tear

  1. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  2. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  3. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  4. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  5. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  6. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  7. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  8. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  9. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  10. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  11. We're on a ________________ here.
  12. The ball is in your ________________.
  13. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  14. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  15. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  16. It's one o'clock ________________.
  17. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  18. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  19. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  20. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  21. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  22. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  23. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  24. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.

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

Answer key

  1. court — of a king
  2. racket — for tennis
  3. snap — to click
  4. sharp — clever
  5. tear — from crying
  6. court — of law
  7. roll — a cake
  8. racket — for tennis
  9. tear — to rip
  10. snap — to snap out of it
  11. roll — on a roll
  12. court — for sport
  13. snap — to speak sharply
  14. roll — a list
  15. racket — a loud noise
  16. sharp — exactly
  17. hide — animal skin
  18. sharp — with an edge
  19. hide — to keep secret
  20. hide — to keep secret
  21. vault — in gymnastics
  22. vault — an arched ceiling
  23. vault — a safe
  24. tear — from crying

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