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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 120 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: lean · vault · court · craft · chest · content · march · swing

  1. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  2. The ball is in your ________________.
  3. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  4. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  5. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  6. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  7. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  8. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  9. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  10. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  11. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  12. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  13. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  14. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  15. David sat on the ________________.
  16. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  17. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  18. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  19. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  20. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  21. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  22. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  23. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  24. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.

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

Answer key

  1. craft — a skill
  2. court — for sport
  3. chest — of your body
  4. content — videos and posts
  5. content — happy
  6. swing — in golf
  7. march — the month
  8. craft — boats
  9. march — music
  10. chest — of your body
  11. lean — to bend
  12. vault — in gymnastics
  13. craft — a handicraft
  14. content — the amount
  15. swing — to play on
  16. swing — music
  17. vault — a safe
  18. lean — thin
  19. vault — an arched ceiling
  20. chest — a box
  21. march — the month
  22. lean — to rest against
  23. court — of a king
  24. court — of law

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