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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 · bat · fork · jam · straw · fan · court · fine

  1. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  2. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  3. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  4. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  5. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  6. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  7. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  8. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  9. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  10. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  11. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  12. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  13. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  14. The ball is in your ________________.
  15. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  16. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  17. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  18. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  19. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  20. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  21. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  22. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  23. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  24. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.

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

Answer key

  1. vault — an arched ceiling
  2. fan — a supporter
  3. bat — for baseball
  4. fork — to eat with
  5. straw — dry grass
  6. bat — the animal
  7. fan — a supporter
  8. jam — to spread on bread
  9. fork — a garden tool
  10. court — of a king
  11. straw — a straw man
  12. fine — high quality
  13. fine — a penalty
  14. court — for sport
  15. jam — a tight spot
  16. court — of law
  17. fine — all right
  18. vault — a safe
  19. vault — in gymnastics
  20. fork — in a road
  21. jam — in traffic
  22. straw — to clutch at straws
  23. fan — to cool the air
  24. bat — in an idiom

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