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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: chip · pound · wake · wound · court · pitch · craft · vault

  1. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  2. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  3. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  4. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  5. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  6. The ball is in your ________________.
  7. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  8. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  9. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  10. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  11. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  12. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  13. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  14. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  15. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  16. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  17. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  18. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  19. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  20. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  21. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  22. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  23. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  24. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — an injury
  2. vault — an arched ceiling
  3. wake — before a funeral
  4. pitch — a sports field
  5. pound — a weight
  6. court — for sport
  7. court — of a king
  8. wound — an injury
  9. pound — for dogs
  10. wound — past of 'wind'
  11. vault — in gymnastics
  12. chip — to eat
  13. craft — boats
  14. craft — a skill
  15. court — of law
  16. craft — a handicraft
  17. vault — a safe
  18. wake — a trail
  19. wake — to stop sleeping
  20. pitch — a sales talk
  21. chip — in a computer
  22. chip — for betting
  23. pitch — completely
  24. pound — to hit hard

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