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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 120 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: dip · court · content · leaves · vault · pitcher · rash · season

  1. The ball is in your ________________.
  2. He is an ace ________________.
  3. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  4. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  5. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  6. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  7. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  8. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  9. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  10. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  11. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  12. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  13. Don't do anything ________________.
  14. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  15. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  16. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  17. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  18. Did you ________________ the meat?
  19. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  20. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  21. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  22. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  23. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  24. I seem to be developing a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. court — for sport
  2. pitcher — in baseball
  3. vault — in gymnastics
  4. vault — a safe
  5. court — of a king
  6. content — happy
  7. rash — a series
  8. leaves — lets stay
  9. pitcher — a jug
  10. season — of the year
  11. dip — a sauce
  12. court — of law
  13. rash — hasty
  14. content — the amount
  15. content — videos and posts
  16. dip — to sink
  17. pitcher — a jug
  18. season — to add flavour
  19. vault — an arched ceiling
  20. leaves — of a tree
  21. season — in sport
  22. dip — to dunk
  23. leaves — to go away
  24. rash — on the skin

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