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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 120 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: court · band · ball · firm · vault · field · bay · chest

  1. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  2. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  3. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  4. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  5. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  6. The ball is in your ________________.
  7. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  8. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  9. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  10. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  11. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  12. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  13. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  14. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  15. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  16. My mare is ________________ in color.
  17. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  18. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  19. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  20. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  21. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  22. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  23. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  24. The King held a masked ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a rubber band
  2. firm — steady
  3. court — of law
  4. chest — of your body
  5. field — farmland
  6. court — for sport
  7. firm — decided
  8. chest — a box
  9. vault — an arched ceiling
  10. field — for sport
  11. firm — a company
  12. band — a music group
  13. bay — a part of the sea
  14. vault — a safe
  15. ball — a round shape
  16. bay — a horse colour
  17. field — a subject
  18. court — of a king
  19. ball — a great time
  20. vault — in gymnastics
  21. chest — of your body
  22. bay — to keep at bay
  23. band — a ring
  24. ball — a dance

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