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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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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: temple · court · board · season · vault · drill · march · hand

  1. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  2. The ball is in your ________________.
  3. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  4. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  5. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  6. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  7. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  8. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  9. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  10. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  11. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  12. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  13. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  14. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  15. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  16. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  17. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  18. Did you ________________ the meat?
  19. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  20. When was this ________________ built?
  21. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  22. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  23. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  24. ________________ games are popular in Germany.

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

Answer key

  1. season — of the year
  2. court — for sport
  3. hand — in cards
  4. court — of law
  5. hand — part of the body
  6. march — music
  7. vault — in gymnastics
  8. board — a committee
  9. court — of a king
  10. drill — army training
  11. march — the month
  12. season — in sport
  13. march — the month
  14. temple — a place of worship
  15. board — to get on
  16. hand — help
  17. vault — an arched ceiling
  18. season — to add flavour
  19. drill — the tool
  20. temple — a place of worship
  21. temple — side of the head
  22. vault — a safe
  23. drill — a practice
  24. board — a flat piece

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