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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: court · wake · nail · vault · coach · cold · net · bear

  1. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  2. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  3. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  4. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  5. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  6. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  7. The water is too ________________.
  8. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  9. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  10. The ________________ went through the wall.
  11. Have you met the new head ________________?
  12. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  13. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  14. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  15. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  16. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  17. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  18. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  19. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  20. The ball is in your ________________.
  21. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  22. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  23. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  24. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.

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

Answer key

  1. wake — a trail
  2. bear — the animal
  3. coach — a trainer
  4. cold — an illness
  5. court — of law
  6. nail — on a finger
  7. cold — not warm
  8. nail — for a hammer
  9. net — for catching
  10. nail — for a hammer
  11. coach — a trainer
  12. coach — pulled by horses
  13. court — of a king
  14. net — in sport
  15. net — after costs
  16. vault — a safe
  17. bear — to put up with
  18. vault — an arched ceiling
  19. vault — in gymnastics
  20. court — for sport
  21. wake — to stop sleeping
  22. wake — before a funeral
  23. bear — the animal
  24. cold — the Cold War

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