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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: hand · tube · spring · swing · court · vault · bulb · scale

  1. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  2. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  3. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  4. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  5. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  6. The light ________________ burned out.
  7. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  8. I've got to change the light ________________.
  9. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  10. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  11. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  12. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  13. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  14. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  15. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  16. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  17. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  18. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  19. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  20. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  21. David sat on the ________________.
  22. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  23. I'll be taking the ________________.
  24. The ball is in your ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. court — of a king
  2. spring — of water
  3. vault — a safe
  4. tube — a container
  5. spring — a coil
  6. bulb — for light
  7. swing — music
  8. bulb — for light
  9. tube — in a tire
  10. scale — in music
  11. hand — in cards
  12. scale — size or range
  13. spring — the season
  14. vault — in gymnastics
  15. hand — part of the body
  16. hand — help
  17. bulb — of a plant
  18. vault — an arched ceiling
  19. swing — in golf
  20. scale — for weighing
  21. swing — to play on
  22. court — of law
  23. tube — the underground
  24. court — for sport

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