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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 · season · court · bound · pitch · wave · temple · wind

  1. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  2. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  3. That was ________________ to happen.
  4. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  5. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  6. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  7. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  8. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  9. When was this ________________ built?
  10. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  11. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  12. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  13. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  14. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  15. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  16. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  17. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  18. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  19. The ball is in your ________________.
  20. Did you ________________ the meat?
  21. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  22. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  23. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  24. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.

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

Answer key

  1. pitch — completely
  2. vault — a safe
  3. bound — certain
  4. vault — an arched ceiling
  5. court — of a king
  6. wave — a sudden rise
  7. wind — moving air
  8. wind — moving air
  9. temple — a place of worship
  10. pitch — a sales talk
  11. wind — to turn a key
  12. bound — obliged
  13. bound — tied together
  14. pitch — a sports field
  15. season — of the year
  16. wave — with your hand
  17. wave — of the sea
  18. vault — in gymnastics
  19. court — for sport
  20. season — to add flavour
  21. court — of law
  22. season — in sport
  23. temple — a place of worship
  24. temple — side of the head

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