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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 · club · scale · content · land · stick · court · face

  1. The ball is in your ________________.
  2. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  3. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  4. When are we going to ________________?
  5. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  6. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  7. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  8. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  9. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  10. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  11. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  12. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  13. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  14. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  15. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  16. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  17. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  18. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  19. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  20. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  21. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  22. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  23. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  24. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.

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

Answer key

  1. court — for sport
  2. club — for dancing
  3. stick — to attach or keep to
  4. land — to come down
  5. face — to point toward
  6. vault — an arched ceiling
  7. content — videos and posts
  8. court — of a king
  9. face — to confront
  10. content — the amount
  11. stick — a piece of wood
  12. scale — size or range
  13. vault — in gymnastics
  14. scale — in music
  15. scale — for weighing
  16. land — ground
  17. land — a country
  18. court — of law
  19. stick — a piece of wood
  20. vault — a safe
  21. content — happy
  22. face — part of the head
  23. club — for golf
  24. club — a group

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