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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: band · track · fall · vault · racket · court · root · clip

  1. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  2. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  3. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  4. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  5. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  6. The ball is in your ________________.
  7. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  8. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  9. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  10. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  11. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  12. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  13. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  14. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  15. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  16. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  17. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  18. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  19. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  20. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  21. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  22. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  23. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  24. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. court — of law
  2. court — of a king
  3. band — a ring
  4. racket — for tennis
  5. clip — a video
  6. court — for sport
  7. clip — for paper
  8. fall — to drop
  9. vault — a safe
  10. fall — the season
  11. racket — a loud noise
  12. track — a path
  13. racket — for tennis
  14. vault — in gymnastics
  15. track — a song
  16. root — of a word
  17. vault — an arched ceiling
  18. clip — to cut
  19. fall — to drop
  20. band — a rubber band
  21. track — to keep track
  22. root — the cause
  23. root — of a plant
  24. band — a music group

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