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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 116 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: branch · court · net · key · drill · land · vault · clip

  1. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  2. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  3. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  4. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  5. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  6. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  7. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  8. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  9. This piece is in a major ________________.
  10. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  11. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  12. When are we going to ________________?
  13. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  14. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  15. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  16. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  17. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  18. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  19. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  20. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  21. The ball is in your ________________.
  22. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  23. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  24. We had a fire ________________ at school today.

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

Answer key

  1. land — a country
  2. vault — an arched ceiling
  3. court — of a king
  4. key — for a lock
  5. net — in sport
  6. clip — for paper
  7. court — of law
  8. net — for catching
  9. key — in music
  10. clip — a video
  11. vault — in gymnastics
  12. land — to come down
  13. branch — of a tree
  14. branch — a division
  15. land — ground
  16. branch — of a bank
  17. key — the most important part
  18. drill — army training
  19. vault — a safe
  20. net — after costs
  21. court — for sport
  22. drill — the tool
  23. clip — to cut
  24. drill — a practice

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