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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: net · race · court · mug · vault · snap · fork · cell

  1. The ball is in your ________________.
  2. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  3. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  4. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  5. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  6. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  7. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  8. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  9. Where did you ________________ them?
  10. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  11. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  12. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  13. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  14. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  15. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  16. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  17. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  18. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  19. He was locked up in a ________________.
  20. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  21. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  22. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  23. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  24. He refilled his coffee ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. court — for sport
  2. court — of law
  3. vault — a safe
  4. net — for catching
  5. cell — a phone
  6. vault — in gymnastics
  7. mug — a face
  8. net — in sport
  9. mug — to rob
  10. snap — to speak sharply
  11. race — humankind
  12. snap — to click
  13. court — of a king
  14. fork — to eat with
  15. fork — in a road
  16. race — the arms race
  17. snap — to snap out of it
  18. vault — an arched ceiling
  19. cell — in a prison
  20. net — after costs
  21. cell — in biology
  22. fork — a garden tool
  23. race — a contest
  24. mug — a cup

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