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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: fork · court · vault · march · snap · straw · track · scale

  1. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  2. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  3. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  4. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  5. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  6. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  7. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  8. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  9. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  10. The ball is in your ________________.
  11. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  12. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  13. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  14. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  15. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  16. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  17. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  18. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  19. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  20. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  21. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  22. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  23. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  24. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fork — to eat with
  2. vault — a safe
  3. vault — an arched ceiling
  4. march — the month
  5. court — of a king
  6. snap — to snap out of it
  7. track — a song
  8. track — a path
  9. fork — in a road
  10. court — for sport
  11. straw — dry grass
  12. scale — in music
  13. straw — to clutch at straws
  14. snap — to click
  15. snap — to speak sharply
  16. march — music
  17. straw — a straw man
  18. vault — in gymnastics
  19. court — of law
  20. scale — for weighing
  21. march — the month
  22. fork — a garden tool
  23. track — to keep track
  24. scale — size or range

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