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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: fall · wave · press · vault · straw · plane · court · field

  1. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  2. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  3. The ball is in your ________________.
  4. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  5. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  6. The ________________ took off on time.
  7. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  8. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  9. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  10. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  11. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  12. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  13. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  14. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  15. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  16. Did you ________________ the button?
  17. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  18. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  19. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  20. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  21. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  22. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  23. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  24. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.

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

Answer key

  1. court — of law
  2. wave — of the sea
  3. court — for sport
  4. wave — a sudden rise
  5. plane — a tool
  6. plane — an aircraft
  7. straw — a straw man
  8. wave — with your hand
  9. vault — a safe
  10. press — a publisher
  11. straw — to clutch at straws
  12. field — a subject
  13. press — newspapers
  14. fall — the season
  15. vault — an arched ceiling
  16. press — to push
  17. plane — in geometry
  18. fall — to drop
  19. fall — to drop
  20. field — for sport
  21. court — of a king
  22. straw — dry grass
  23. field — farmland
  24. vault — in gymnastics

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