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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: bat · season · root · court · cold · nail · staff · vault

  1. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  2. The ________________ went through the wall.
  3. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  4. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  5. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  6. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  7. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  8. The ball is in your ________________.
  9. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  10. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  11. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  12. The water is too ________________.
  13. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  14. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  15. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  16. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  17. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  18. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  19. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  20. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  21. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  22. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  23. Did you ________________ the meat?
  24. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. vault — an arched ceiling
  2. nail — for a hammer
  3. staff — employees
  4. nail — for a hammer
  5. court — of law
  6. bat — for baseball
  7. season — in sport
  8. court — for sport
  9. staff — a stick
  10. staff — employees
  11. court — of a king
  12. cold — not warm
  13. vault — in gymnastics
  14. root — the cause
  15. nail — on a finger
  16. bat — in an idiom
  17. season — of the year
  18. root — of a word
  19. bat — the animal
  20. cold — an illness
  21. root — of a plant
  22. cold — the Cold War
  23. season — to add flavour
  24. vault — a safe

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