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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 116 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: nail · lean · vault · mine · court · spell · rash · fan

  1. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  2. The ball is in your ________________.
  3. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  4. Don't do anything ________________.
  5. The ________________ went through the wall.
  6. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  7. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  8. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  9. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  10. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  11. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  12. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  13. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  14. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  15. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  16. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  17. How do you ________________ your surname?
  18. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  19. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  20. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  21. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  22. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  23. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  24. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — belonging to me
  2. court — for sport
  3. lean — to rest against
  4. rash — hasty
  5. nail — for a hammer
  6. lean — thin
  7. vault — a safe
  8. fan — a supporter
  9. court — of law
  10. vault — an arched ceiling
  11. nail — on a finger
  12. mine — for digging
  13. fan — to cool the air
  14. nail — for a hammer
  15. lean — to bend
  16. spell — magic
  17. spell — letters
  18. rash — on the skin
  19. rash — a series
  20. court — of a king
  21. mine — an explosive
  22. fan — a supporter
  23. vault — in gymnastics
  24. spell — a short time

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