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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: chair · fine · court · game · drill · root · tear · vault

  1. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  2. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  3. That was a fun ________________.
  4. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  5. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  6. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  7. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  8. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  9. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  10. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  11. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  12. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  13. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  14. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  15. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  16. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  17. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  18. The ball is in your ________________.
  19. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  20. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  21. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  22. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  23. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  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 — of law
  2. fine — all right
  3. game — a match
  4. fine — high quality
  5. fine — a penalty
  6. chair — a leader
  7. root — of a plant
  8. game — a kind of play
  9. chair — a professorship
  10. court — of a king
  11. vault — in gymnastics
  12. vault — a safe
  13. vault — an arched ceiling
  14. tear — from crying
  15. root — the cause
  16. game — wild animals
  17. drill — the tool
  18. court — for sport
  19. tear — to rip
  20. tear — from crying
  21. root — of a word
  22. drill — army training
  23. drill — a practice
  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