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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: land · fork · chip · fall · date · vault · pitch · court

  1. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  2. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  3. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  4. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  5. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  6. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  7. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  8. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  9. The ball is in your ________________.
  10. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  11. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  12. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  13. Have you settled on a ________________?
  14. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  15. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  16. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  17. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  18. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  19. When are we going to ________________?
  20. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  21. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  22. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  23. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  24. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.

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

Answer key

  1. fall — the season
  2. fork — in a road
  3. date — on the calendar
  4. pitch — completely
  5. vault — an arched ceiling
  6. chip — to eat
  7. vault — a safe
  8. fall — to drop
  9. court — for sport
  10. chip — for betting
  11. fork — to eat with
  12. pitch — a sales talk
  13. date — on the calendar
  14. chip — in a computer
  15. court — of law
  16. pitch — a sports field
  17. vault — in gymnastics
  18. fork — a garden tool
  19. land — to come down
  20. land — ground
  21. court — of a king
  22. date — the fruit
  23. land — a country
  24. fall — to drop

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