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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: leaves · fan · court · field · vault · fall · club · scale

  1. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  2. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  3. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  4. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  5. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  6. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  7. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  8. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  9. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  10. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  11. The ball is in your ________________.
  12. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  13. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  14. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  15. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  16. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  17. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  18. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  19. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  20. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  21. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  22. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  23. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  24. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.

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

Answer key

  1. court — of law
  2. field — a subject
  3. field — farmland
  4. leaves — to go away
  5. fan — a supporter
  6. fall — to drop
  7. fan — a supporter
  8. leaves — of a tree
  9. club — for dancing
  10. scale — for weighing
  11. court — for sport
  12. leaves — lets stay
  13. club — a group
  14. vault — a safe
  15. vault — an arched ceiling
  16. fall — to drop
  17. scale — in music
  18. fan — to cool the air
  19. field — for sport
  20. fall — the season
  21. scale — size or range
  22. court — of a king
  23. club — for golf
  24. vault — in gymnastics

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