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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 120 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.

Words on the sheet
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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: trunk · court · vault · bore · hand · clip · content · object

  1. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  2. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  3. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  4. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  5. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  6. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  7. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  8. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  9. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  10. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  11. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  12. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  13. The ball is in your ________________.
  14. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  15. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  16. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  17. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  18. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  19. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  20. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  21. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  22. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  23. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  24. I've got the luggage in my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. court — of a king
  2. clip — a video
  3. vault — in gymnastics
  4. vault — a safe
  5. vault — an arched ceiling
  6. object — to protest
  7. hand — help
  8. clip — to cut
  9. bore — to tire
  10. trunk — of an elephant
  11. content — videos and posts
  12. hand — in cards
  13. court — for sport
  14. bore — gave birth
  15. trunk — of a tree
  16. object — an aim
  17. content — happy
  18. bore — to drill
  19. court — of law
  20. content — the amount
  21. clip — for paper
  22. object — a thing
  23. hand — part of the body
  24. trunk — of a car

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