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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 116 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: track · cold · vault · court · coach · kick · fork · capital

  1. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  2. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  3. The ball is in your ________________.
  4. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  5. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  6. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  7. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  8. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  9. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  10. The water is too ________________.
  11. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  12. Have you met the new head ________________?
  13. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  14. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  15. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  16. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  17. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  18. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  19. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  20. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  21. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  22. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  23. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  24. He keeps ________________ of his days.

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

Answer key

  1. vault — a safe
  2. fork — a garden tool
  3. court — for sport
  4. capital — money
  5. fork — in a road
  6. capital — a big letter
  7. cold — an illness
  8. kick — with a leg
  9. vault — in gymnastics
  10. cold — not warm
  11. capital — a city
  12. coach — a trainer
  13. kick — a thrill
  14. fork — to eat with
  15. track — a path
  16. court — of a king
  17. coach — pulled by horses
  18. vault — an arched ceiling
  19. cold — the Cold War
  20. track — a song
  21. kick — in football
  22. court — of law
  23. coach — a trainer
  24. track — to keep track

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