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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: vault · club · cold · safe · cell · court

  1. He was locked up in a ________________.
  2. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  3. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  4. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  5. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  6. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  7. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  8. The water is too ________________.
  9. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  10. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  11. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  12. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  13. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  14. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  15. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  16. The ball is in your ________________.
  17. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  18. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!

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

Answer key

  1. cell — in a prison
  2. safe — a strongbox
  3. safe — out of danger
  4. club — for golf
  5. vault — in gymnastics
  6. vault — a safe
  7. cell — in biology
  8. cold — not warm
  9. cold — an illness
  10. club — a group
  11. safe — out of danger
  12. vault — an arched ceiling
  13. club — for dancing
  14. court — of law
  15. court — of a king
  16. court — for sport
  17. cold — the Cold War
  18. cell — a phone

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