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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.

Words on the sheet
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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: ball · fall · bat · file · land · court · can · vault

  1. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  2. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  3. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  4. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  5. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  6. The King held a masked ________________.
  7. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  8. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  9. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  10. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  11. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  12. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  13. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  14. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  15. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  16. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  17. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  18. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  19. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  20. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  21. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  22. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  23. The ball is in your ________________.
  24. When are we going to ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. bat — the animal
  2. can — a tin
  3. file — a line of people
  4. can — to be able to
  5. can — a tin
  6. ball — a dance
  7. court — of law
  8. fall — to drop
  9. land — a country
  10. vault — an arched ceiling
  11. vault — in gymnastics
  12. vault — a safe
  13. ball — a great time
  14. bat — in an idiom
  15. fall — the season
  16. bat — for baseball
  17. file — a tool
  18. fall — to drop
  19. land — ground
  20. ball — a round shape
  21. court — of a king
  22. file — a document
  23. court — for sport
  24. land — to come down

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