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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: vault · chest · last · rule · court · wake

  1. False peace will not ________________.
  2. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  3. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  4. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  5. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  6. The ball is in your ________________.
  7. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  8. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  9. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  10. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  11. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  12. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  13. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  14. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  15. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  16. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  17. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  18. At ________________, we arrived at the village.

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

Answer key

  1. last — to go on
  2. rule — a law
  3. wake — to stop sleeping
  4. last — final
  5. court — of law
  6. court — for sport
  7. wake — a trail
  8. chest — of your body
  9. vault — an arched ceiling
  10. chest — a box
  11. court — of a king
  12. rule — government
  13. rule — to rule out
  14. chest — of your body
  15. wake — before a funeral
  16. vault — in gymnastics
  17. vault — a safe
  18. last — finally

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