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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 · spell · last · clip · club · hand · tube · court

  1. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  2. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  3. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  4. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  5. How do you ________________ your surname?
  6. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  7. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  8. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  9. The ball is in your ________________.
  10. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  11. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  12. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  13. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  14. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  15. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  16. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  17. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  18. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  19. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  20. False peace will not ________________.
  21. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  22. I'll be taking the ________________.
  23. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  24. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.

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

Answer key

  1. court — of a king
  2. club — a group
  3. spell — a short time
  4. last — finally
  5. spell — letters
  6. tube — in a tire
  7. hand — in cards
  8. last — final
  9. court — for sport
  10. club — for dancing
  11. hand — part of the body
  12. tube — a container
  13. clip — a video
  14. vault — a safe
  15. clip — to cut
  16. club — for golf
  17. hand — help
  18. vault — an arched ceiling
  19. spell — magic
  20. last — to go on
  21. clip — for paper
  22. tube — the underground
  23. court — of law
  24. vault — in gymnastics

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