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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: court · firm · vault · wind · chest · cap

  1. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  2. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  3. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  4. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  5. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  6. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  7. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  8. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  9. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  10. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  11. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  12. The ball is in your ________________.
  13. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  14. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  15. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  16. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  17. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  18. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.

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

Answer key

  1. vault — a safe
  2. vault — in gymnastics
  3. court — of law
  4. wind — to turn a key
  5. cap — a hat
  6. chest — of your body
  7. wind — moving air
  8. court — of a king
  9. vault — an arched ceiling
  10. cap — of ice
  11. firm — steady
  12. court — for sport
  13. wind — moving air
  14. cap — a lid
  15. chest — a box
  16. firm — decided
  17. firm — a company
  18. chest — of your body

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