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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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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: stand · kid · bowl · vault · cell · cap · court · wax

  1. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  2. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  3. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  4. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  5. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  6. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  7. The ball is in your ________________.
  8. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  9. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  10. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  11. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  12. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  13. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  14. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  15. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  16. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  17. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  18. I can't ________________ this cold.
  19. He was locked up in a ________________.
  20. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  21. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  22. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  23. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  24. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — a football final
  2. bowl — a dish
  3. cap — a hat
  4. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  5. stand — on your feet
  6. vault — an arched ceiling
  7. court — for sport
  8. bowl — to roll
  9. cell — a phone
  10. stand — for spectators
  11. court — of law
  12. court — of a king
  13. cap — a lid
  14. wax — to grow
  15. wax — in the ear
  16. wax — for sculpting
  17. kid — child
  18. stand — to bear
  19. cell — in a prison
  20. vault — a safe
  21. kid — to tease
  22. cap — of ice
  23. vault — in gymnastics
  24. cell — in biology

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