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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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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 · safe · chair · court · net · drill · capital · temple

  1. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  2. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  3. The ball is in your ________________.
  4. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  5. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  6. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  7. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  8. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  9. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  10. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  11. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  12. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  13. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  14. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  15. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  16. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  17. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  18. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  19. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  20. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  21. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  22. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  23. When was this ________________ built?
  24. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.

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

Answer key

  1. vault — a safe
  2. net — in sport
  3. court — for sport
  4. vault — in gymnastics
  5. court — of a king
  6. capital — money
  7. safe — a strongbox
  8. chair — a leader
  9. chair — to sit on
  10. temple — a place of worship
  11. net — for catching
  12. drill — the tool
  13. vault — an arched ceiling
  14. temple — side of the head
  15. net — after costs
  16. chair — a professorship
  17. safe — out of danger
  18. court — of law
  19. drill — a practice
  20. capital — a city
  21. safe — out of danger
  22. drill — army training
  23. temple — a place of worship
  24. capital — a big letter

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