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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: racket · stick · court · mark · vault · clip · chest · roll

  1. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  2. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  3. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  4. The ball is in your ________________.
  5. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  6. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  7. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  8. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  9. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  10. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  11. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  12. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  13. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  14. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  15. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  16. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  17. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  18. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  19. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  20. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  21. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  22. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  23. We're on a ________________ here.
  24. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. court — of a king
  2. racket — a loud noise
  3. roll — a list
  4. court — for sport
  5. chest — of your body
  6. clip — a video
  7. mark — to pay attention
  8. chest — of your body
  9. mark — a trace
  10. stick — to attach or keep to
  11. stick — a piece of wood
  12. court — of law
  13. racket — for tennis
  14. clip — for paper
  15. racket — for tennis
  16. chest — a box
  17. vault — a safe
  18. mark — a grade
  19. vault — an arched ceiling
  20. clip — to cut
  21. roll — a cake
  22. vault — in gymnastics
  23. roll — on a roll
  24. stick — a piece of wood

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