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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 116 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: straw · craft · vault · band · court · bark

  1. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  2. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  3. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  4. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  5. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  6. The ball is in your ________________.
  7. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  8. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  9. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  10. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  11. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  12. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  13. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  14. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  15. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  16. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  17. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  18. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — dry grass
  2. band — a rubber band
  3. court — of law
  4. vault — a safe
  5. straw — to clutch at straws
  6. court — for sport
  7. craft — a handicraft
  8. bark — a dog's sound
  9. straw — a straw man
  10. bark — to shout
  11. court — of a king
  12. vault — an arched ceiling
  13. craft — a skill
  14. bark — of a tree
  15. band — a ring
  16. craft — boats
  17. vault — in gymnastics
  18. band — a music group

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