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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: spring · rule · court · vault · fork · stem · present · roll

  1. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  2. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  3. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  4. We're on a ________________ here.
  5. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  6. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  7. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  8. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  9. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  10. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  11. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  12. The ball is in your ________________.
  13. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  14. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  15. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  16. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  17. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  18. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  19. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  20. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  21. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  22. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  23. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  24. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?

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

Answer key

  1. vault — a safe
  2. court — of law
  3. spring — a coil
  4. roll — on a roll
  5. fork — to eat with
  6. spring — the season
  7. present — the time now
  8. court — of a king
  9. rule — to rule out
  10. stem — a stem cell
  11. roll — a list
  12. court — for sport
  13. spring — of water
  14. stem — to come from
  15. fork — a garden tool
  16. roll — a cake
  17. present — a gift
  18. fork — in a road
  19. vault — an arched ceiling
  20. stem — of a plant
  21. present — there
  22. rule — a law
  23. vault — in gymnastics
  24. rule — government

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