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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 116 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.

Make a worksheet

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
468
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 · present · scale · straw · last · wound · court · pitcher

  1. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  2. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  3. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  4. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  5. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  6. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  7. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  8. He is an ace ________________.
  9. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  10. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  11. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  12. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  13. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  14. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  15. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  16. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  17. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  18. The ball is in your ________________.
  19. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  20. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  21. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  22. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  23. False peace will not ________________.
  24. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.

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

Answer key

  1. court — of a king
  2. present — a gift
  3. wound — past of 'wind'
  4. present — the time now
  5. pitcher — a jug
  6. scale — size or range
  7. straw — dry grass
  8. pitcher — in baseball
  9. court — of law
  10. scale — for weighing
  11. last — finally
  12. wound — an injury
  13. vault — a safe
  14. vault — an arched ceiling
  15. straw — to clutch at straws
  16. last — final
  17. straw — a straw man
  18. court — for sport
  19. present — there
  20. scale — in music
  21. wound — an injury
  22. pitcher — a jug
  23. last — to go on
  24. vault — in gymnastics

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