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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: date · press · vault · court · kid · club

  1. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  2. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  3. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  4. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  5. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  6. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  7. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  8. The ball is in your ________________.
  9. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  10. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  11. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  12. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  13. Have you settled on a ________________?
  14. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  15. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  16. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  17. Did you ________________ the button?
  18. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — to tease
  2. vault — an arched ceiling
  3. date — the fruit
  4. club — for dancing
  5. date — on the calendar
  6. court — of a king
  7. vault — a safe
  8. court — for sport
  9. club — for golf
  10. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  11. press — a publisher
  12. vault — in gymnastics
  13. date — on the calendar
  14. court — of law
  15. press — newspapers
  16. club — a group
  17. press — to push
  18. kid — child

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