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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: ball · vault · arm · spell · band · drill · spring · court

  1. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  2. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  3. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  4. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  5. My father caught me by the ________________.
  6. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  7. How do you ________________ your surname?
  8. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  9. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  10. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  11. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  12. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  13. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  14. The King held a masked ________________.
  15. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  16. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  17. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  18. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  19. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  20. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  21. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  22. The ball is in your ________________.
  23. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  24. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a ring
  2. spell — a short time
  3. arm — a part of something
  4. court — of law
  5. arm — part of the body
  6. spell — magic
  7. spell — letters
  8. vault — a safe
  9. spring — a coil
  10. drill — the tool
  11. ball — a great time
  12. spring — the season
  13. vault — an arched ceiling
  14. ball — a dance
  15. ball — a round shape
  16. band — a music group
  17. spring — of water
  18. drill — army training
  19. court — of a king
  20. arm — part of the body
  21. drill — a practice
  22. court — for sport
  23. vault — in gymnastics
  24. band — a rubber band

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