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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: craft · season · bat · fork · vault · court · key · race

  1. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  2. This piece is in a major ________________.
  3. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  4. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  5. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  6. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  7. Did you ________________ the meat?
  8. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  9. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  10. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  11. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  12. The ball is in your ________________.
  13. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  14. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  15. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  16. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  17. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  18. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  19. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  20. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  21. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  22. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  23. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  24. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.

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

Answer key

  1. craft — boats
  2. key — in music
  3. key — for a lock
  4. key — the most important part
  5. fork — to eat with
  6. court — of a king
  7. season — to add flavour
  8. fork — a garden tool
  9. craft — a skill
  10. race — the arms race
  11. vault — an arched ceiling
  12. court — for sport
  13. fork — in a road
  14. race — humankind
  15. bat — for baseball
  16. court — of law
  17. season — in sport
  18. bat — the animal
  19. vault — in gymnastics
  20. vault — a safe
  21. race — a contest
  22. season — of the year
  23. craft — a handicraft
  24. bat — in an idiom

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