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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: pitcher · kid · sharp · chair · court · root · vault · staff

  1. The ball is in your ________________.
  2. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  3. It's one o'clock ________________.
  4. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  5. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  6. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  7. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  8. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  9. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  10. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  11. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  12. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  13. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  14. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  15. He is an ace ________________.
  16. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  17. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  18. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  19. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  20. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  21. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  22. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  23. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  24. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. court — for sport
  2. chair — a leader
  3. sharp — exactly
  4. chair — a professorship
  5. vault — an arched ceiling
  6. court — of a king
  7. staff — employees
  8. vault — in gymnastics
  9. root — of a plant
  10. pitcher — a jug
  11. sharp — with an edge
  12. kid — child
  13. root — of a word
  14. court — of law
  15. pitcher — in baseball
  16. staff — a stick
  17. vault — a safe
  18. staff — employees
  19. sharp — clever
  20. pitcher — a jug
  21. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  22. root — the cause
  23. kid — to tease
  24. chair — to sit on

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