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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: wake · calf · craft · vault · court · file · march · chest

  1. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  2. The ball is in your ________________.
  3. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  4. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  5. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  6. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  7. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  8. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  9. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  10. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  11. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  12. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  13. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  14. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  15. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  16. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  17. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  18. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  19. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  20. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  21. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  22. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  23. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  24. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. craft — boats
  2. court — for sport
  3. march — music
  4. file — a tool
  5. chest — of your body
  6. court — of a king
  7. file — a document
  8. calf — a young animal
  9. wake — a trail
  10. calf — of the leg
  11. court — of law
  12. march — the month
  13. vault — in gymnastics
  14. chest — of your body
  15. file — a line of people
  16. craft — a handicraft
  17. wake — to stop sleeping
  18. craft — a skill
  19. wake — before a funeral
  20. chest — a box
  21. vault — a safe
  22. march — the month
  23. vault — an arched ceiling
  24. calf — a young animal

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