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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: court · rest · vault · file · calf · fork · capital · rush

  1. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  2. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  3. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  4. The ball is in your ________________.
  5. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  6. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  7. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  8. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  9. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  10. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  11. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  12. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  13. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  14. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  15. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  16. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  17. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  18. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  19. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  20. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  21. That must've been a ________________.
  22. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  23. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  24. He had ________________ pain while walking.

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

Answer key

  1. vault — an arched ceiling
  2. file — a document
  3. file — a tool
  4. court — for sport
  5. vault — a safe
  6. rush — hurry
  7. vault — in gymnastics
  8. file — a line of people
  9. capital — a big letter
  10. rush — to hurry
  11. rest — a break
  12. court — of law
  13. rest — what's left
  14. fork — in a road
  15. calf — a young animal
  16. fork — to eat with
  17. capital — money
  18. calf — a young animal
  19. rest — what's left
  20. capital — a city
  21. rush — a thrill
  22. court — of a king
  23. fork — a garden tool
  24. calf — of the leg

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