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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: cold · vault · march · temple · chip · court · scale · bear

  1. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  2. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  3. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  4. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  5. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  6. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  7. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  8. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  9. The ball is in your ________________.
  10. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  11. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  12. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  13. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  14. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  15. When was this ________________ built?
  16. The water is too ________________.
  17. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  18. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  19. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  20. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  21. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  22. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  23. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  24. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.

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

Answer key

  1. bear — the animal
  2. vault — a safe
  3. bear — to put up with
  4. scale — size or range
  5. march — music
  6. chip — for betting
  7. chip — in a computer
  8. chip — to eat
  9. court — for sport
  10. cold — the Cold War
  11. scale — for weighing
  12. march — the month
  13. vault — in gymnastics
  14. vault — an arched ceiling
  15. temple — a place of worship
  16. cold — not warm
  17. scale — in music
  18. temple — a place of worship
  19. court — of a king
  20. bear — the animal
  21. march — the month
  22. court — of law
  23. temple — side of the head
  24. cold — an illness

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