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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: last · club · saw · vault · pitch · court · rule · fan

  1. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  2. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  3. He works in a ________________ mill.
  4. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  5. The ball is in your ________________.
  6. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  7. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  8. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  9. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  10. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  11. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  12. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  13. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  14. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  15. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  16. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  17. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  18. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  19. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  20. False peace will not ________________.
  21. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  22. She's very handy with a ________________.
  23. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  24. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.

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

Answer key

  1. last — finally
  2. rule — a law
  3. saw — the tool
  4. court — of law
  5. court — for sport
  6. club — a group
  7. rule — government
  8. pitch — a sales talk
  9. fan — to cool the air
  10. vault — an arched ceiling
  11. saw — past of 'see'
  12. last — final
  13. court — of a king
  14. club — for dancing
  15. club — for golf
  16. pitch — a sports field
  17. vault — a safe
  18. vault — in gymnastics
  19. fan — a supporter
  20. last — to go on
  21. pitch — completely
  22. saw — the tool
  23. rule — to rule out
  24. fan — a supporter

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