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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: rest · scale · coach · race · vault · pound · court · hand

  1. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  2. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  3. The ball is in your ________________.
  4. Have you met the new head ________________?
  5. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  6. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  7. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  8. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  9. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  10. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  11. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  12. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  13. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  14. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  15. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  16. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  17. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  18. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  19. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  20. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  21. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  22. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  23. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  24. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.

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

Answer key

  1. vault — a safe
  2. hand — in cards
  3. court — for sport
  4. coach — a trainer
  5. hand — part of the body
  6. vault — in gymnastics
  7. scale — size or range
  8. rest — what's left
  9. pound — to hit hard
  10. scale — for weighing
  11. coach — a trainer
  12. race — humankind
  13. vault — an arched ceiling
  14. hand — help
  15. court — of law
  16. rest — what's left
  17. rest — a break
  18. court — of a king
  19. pound — a weight
  20. coach — pulled by horses
  21. race — the arms race
  22. scale — in music
  23. pound — for dogs
  24. race — a contest

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