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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: vault · pit · spring · staff · bank · court · fan · rule

  1. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  2. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  3. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  4. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  5. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  6. The ball is in your ________________.
  7. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  8. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  9. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  10. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  11. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  12. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  13. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  14. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  15. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  16. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  17. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  18. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  19. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  20. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  21. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  22. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  23. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  24. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?

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

Answer key

  1. fan — to cool the air
  2. rule — a law
  3. fan — a supporter
  4. bank — of a river
  5. spring — a coil
  6. court — for sport
  7. vault — in gymnastics
  8. pit — in a race
  9. bank — for money
  10. bank — for money
  11. court — of law
  12. spring — the season
  13. court — of a king
  14. vault — a safe
  15. pit — a hole
  16. staff — employees
  17. vault — an arched ceiling
  18. staff — employees
  19. spring — of water
  20. rule — to rule out
  21. pit — a fruit stone
  22. fan — a supporter
  23. staff — a stick
  24. rule — government

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