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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.

Words on the sheet
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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 · march · spell · last · vault · capital · plane · leaves

  1. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  2. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  3. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  4. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  5. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  6. How do you ________________ your surname?
  7. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  8. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  9. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  10. The ________________ took off on time.
  11. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  12. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  13. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  14. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  15. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  16. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  17. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  18. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  19. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  20. The ball is in your ________________.
  21. False peace will not ________________.
  22. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  23. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  24. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. leaves — of a tree
  2. march — music
  3. plane — in geometry
  4. spell — magic
  5. capital — a city
  6. spell — letters
  7. plane — a tool
  8. court — of law
  9. leaves — lets stay
  10. plane — an aircraft
  11. vault — an arched ceiling
  12. march — the month
  13. capital — a big letter
  14. vault — in gymnastics
  15. spell — a short time
  16. leaves — to go away
  17. last — final
  18. march — the month
  19. capital — money
  20. court — for sport
  21. last — to go on
  22. court — of a king
  23. last — finally
  24. vault — a safe

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