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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: sharp · rest · straw · cold · court · leaves · pit · vault

  1. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  2. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  3. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  4. It's one o'clock ________________.
  5. The ball is in your ________________.
  6. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  7. The water is too ________________.
  8. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  9. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  10. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  11. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  12. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  13. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  14. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  15. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  16. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  17. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  18. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  19. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  20. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  21. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  22. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  23. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  24. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.

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

Answer key

  1. leaves — lets stay
  2. leaves — to go away
  3. pit — in a race
  4. sharp — exactly
  5. court — for sport
  6. cold — an illness
  7. cold — not warm
  8. sharp — with an edge
  9. vault — a safe
  10. straw — dry grass
  11. rest — what's left
  12. sharp — clever
  13. vault — in gymnastics
  14. straw — to clutch at straws
  15. leaves — of a tree
  16. rest — a break
  17. court — of law
  18. pit — a fruit stone
  19. straw — a straw man
  20. rest — what's left
  21. court — of a king
  22. pit — a hole
  23. cold — the Cold War
  24. vault — an arched ceiling

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