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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 120 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: court · deal · pop · bear · drill · vault · hand · lean

  1. The ball is in your ________________.
  2. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  3. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  4. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  5. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  6. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  7. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  8. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  9. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  10. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  11. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  12. We're almost out of ________________.
  13. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  14. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  15. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  16. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  17. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  18. You don't need to ________________ round.
  19. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  20. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  21. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  22. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  23. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  24. A black ________________ roamed the forest.

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

Answer key

  1. court — for sport
  2. drill — the tool
  3. vault — in gymnastics
  4. deal — an agreement
  5. court — of a king
  6. pop — music
  7. hand — part of the body
  8. lean — to rest against
  9. hand — in cards
  10. vault — a safe
  11. drill — army training
  12. pop — soda
  13. deal — a big deal
  14. deal — to handle
  15. lean — thin
  16. hand — help
  17. court — of law
  18. pop — to visit
  19. bear — the animal
  20. lean — to bend
  21. drill — a practice
  22. vault — an arched ceiling
  23. bear — to put up with
  24. bear — the animal

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