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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: spring · field · staff · season · mouse · file · vault · court

  1. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  2. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  3. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  4. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  5. The ball is in your ________________.
  6. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  7. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  8. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  9. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  10. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  11. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  12. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  13. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  14. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  15. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  16. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  17. Did you ________________ the meat?
  18. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  19. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  20. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  21. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  22. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  23. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  24. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.

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

Answer key

  1. mouse — for a computer
  2. field — farmland
  3. mouse — the animal
  4. court — of a king
  5. court — for sport
  6. staff — employees
  7. staff — a stick
  8. spring — the season
  9. season — in sport
  10. file — a tool
  11. staff — employees
  12. spring — of water
  13. file — a line of people
  14. season — of the year
  15. vault — an arched ceiling
  16. field — for sport
  17. season — to add flavour
  18. field — a subject
  19. vault — in gymnastics
  20. vault — a safe
  21. spring — a coil
  22. mouse — the animal
  23. court — of law
  24. file — a document

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