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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: vault · court · charge · race · bark · date · game · racket

  1. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  2. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  3. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  4. That was a fun ________________.
  5. Have you settled on a ________________?
  6. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  7. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  8. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  9. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  10. The tickets are free of ________________.
  11. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  12. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  13. The ball is in your ________________.
  14. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  15. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  16. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  17. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  18. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  19. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  20. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  21. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  22. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  23. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  24. He hit the ball with his ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. court — of law
  2. vault — a safe
  3. race — a contest
  4. game — a match
  5. date — on the calendar
  6. race — the arms race
  7. game — wild animals
  8. racket — a loud noise
  9. court — of a king
  10. charge — a price
  11. bark — a dog's sound
  12. charge — electricity
  13. court — for sport
  14. bark — of a tree
  15. racket — for tennis
  16. vault — in gymnastics
  17. date — on the calendar
  18. game — a kind of play
  19. date — the fruit
  20. bark — to shout
  21. charge — in control
  22. race — humankind
  23. vault — an arched ceiling
  24. racket — for tennis

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