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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: court · craft · snap · land · vault · wound · stock · wave

  1. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  2. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  3. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  4. The ball is in your ________________.
  5. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  6. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  7. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  8. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  9. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  10. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  11. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  12. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  13. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  14. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  15. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  16. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  17. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  18. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  19. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  20. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  21. The ________________ market has crashed.
  22. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  23. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  24. When are we going to ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. vault — in gymnastics
  2. court — of law
  3. craft — a skill
  4. court — for sport
  5. stock — a soup base
  6. craft — a handicraft
  7. wave — of the sea
  8. snap — to speak sharply
  9. vault — a safe
  10. land — a country
  11. snap — to click
  12. wound — past of 'wind'
  13. wound — an injury
  14. vault — an arched ceiling
  15. craft — boats
  16. court — of a king
  17. stock — goods
  18. land — ground
  19. wave — a sudden rise
  20. wound — an injury
  21. stock — shares
  22. wave — with your hand
  23. snap — to snap out of it
  24. land — to come down

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