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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: spring · rule · court · vault · fork · stem

  1. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  2. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  3. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  4. The ball is in your ________________.
  5. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  6. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  7. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  8. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  9. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  10. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  11. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  12. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  13. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  14. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  15. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  16. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  17. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  18. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — a coil
  2. rule — government
  3. rule — to rule out
  4. court — for sport
  5. fork — to eat with
  6. stem — of a plant
  7. spring — of water
  8. fork — a garden tool
  9. vault — in gymnastics
  10. stem — to come from
  11. stem — a stem cell
  12. vault — a safe
  13. court — of a king
  14. vault — an arched ceiling
  15. fork — in a road
  16. spring — the season
  17. court — of law
  18. rule — a law

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