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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: land · bat · vault · rock · calf · lean · court · game

  1. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  2. When are we going to ________________?
  3. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  4. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  5. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  6. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  7. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  8. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  9. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  10. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  11. The ball is in your ________________.
  12. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  13. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  14. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  15. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  16. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  17. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  18. That was a fun ________________.
  19. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  20. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  21. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  22. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  23. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  24. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. land — a country
  2. land — to come down
  3. vault — a safe
  4. land — ground
  5. calf — of the leg
  6. game — a kind of play
  7. rock — a stone
  8. rock — to move gently
  9. rock — music
  10. court — of a king
  11. court — for sport
  12. bat — the animal
  13. lean — to bend
  14. lean — to rest against
  15. calf — a young animal
  16. bat — in an idiom
  17. bat — for baseball
  18. game — a match
  19. court — of law
  20. vault — in gymnastics
  21. vault — an arched ceiling
  22. calf — a young animal
  23. lean — thin
  24. game — wild animals

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