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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: straw · rule · tear · hide · vault · court · bat · spell

  1. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  2. The ball is in your ________________.
  3. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  4. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  5. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  6. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  7. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  8. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  9. How do you ________________ your surname?
  10. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  11. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  12. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  13. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  14. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  15. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  16. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  17. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  18. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  19. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  20. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  21. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  22. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  23. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  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. court — for sport
  3. straw — to clutch at straws
  4. court — of law
  5. hide — animal skin
  6. hide — to keep secret
  7. vault — an arched ceiling
  8. spell — magic
  9. spell — letters
  10. hide — to keep secret
  11. tear — from crying
  12. bat — for baseball
  13. rule — government
  14. vault — in gymnastics
  15. rule — a law
  16. bat — the animal
  17. bat — in an idiom
  18. spell — a short time
  19. tear — to rip
  20. straw — a straw man
  21. rule — to rule out
  22. straw — dry grass
  23. tear — from crying
  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