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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: court · hand · net · key · row · content · vault · bear

  1. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  2. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  3. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  4. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  5. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  6. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  7. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  8. The ball is in your ________________.
  9. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  10. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  11. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  12. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  13. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  14. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  15. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  16. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  17. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  18. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  19. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  20. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  21. This piece is in a major ________________.
  22. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  23. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  24. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.

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

Answer key

  1. net — after costs
  2. content — the amount
  3. key — the most important part
  4. hand — part of the body
  5. bear — the animal
  6. key — for a lock
  7. content — videos and posts
  8. court — for sport
  9. vault — in gymnastics
  10. court — of a king
  11. row — to paddle
  12. row — a line
  13. vault — a safe
  14. net — in sport
  15. bear — the animal
  16. content — happy
  17. bear — to put up with
  18. hand — help
  19. court — of law
  20. net — for catching
  21. key — in music
  22. hand — in cards
  23. row — a quarrel
  24. vault — an arched ceiling

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