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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: bark · racket · vault · track · court · capital · pitcher · rest

  1. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  2. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  3. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  4. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  5. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  6. He is an ace ________________.
  7. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  8. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  9. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  10. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  11. The ball is in your ________________.
  12. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  13. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  14. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  15. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  16. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  17. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  18. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  19. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  20. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  21. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  22. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  23. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  24. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.

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

Answer key

  1. court — of law
  2. track — a path
  3. bark — a dog's sound
  4. racket — a loud noise
  5. capital — money
  6. pitcher — in baseball
  7. pitcher — a jug
  8. bark — of a tree
  9. racket — for tennis
  10. capital — a city
  11. court — for sport
  12. vault — an arched ceiling
  13. rest — what's left
  14. pitcher — a jug
  15. track — to keep track
  16. capital — a big letter
  17. racket — for tennis
  18. bark — to shout
  19. court — of a king
  20. vault — a safe
  21. vault — in gymnastics
  22. rest — what's left
  23. rest — a break
  24. track — a song

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