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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: pit · band · date · court · racket · kid · vault · stem

  1. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  2. Have you settled on a ________________?
  3. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  4. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  5. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  6. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  7. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  8. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  9. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  10. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  11. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  12. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  13. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  14. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  15. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  16. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  17. The ball is in your ________________.
  18. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  19. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  20. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  21. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  22. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  23. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  24. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. racket — for tennis
  2. date — on the calendar
  3. racket — a loud noise
  4. court — of a king
  5. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  6. vault — an arched ceiling
  7. stem — a stem cell
  8. pit — in a race
  9. stem — to come from
  10. vault — a safe
  11. vault — in gymnastics
  12. band — a music group
  13. racket — for tennis
  14. kid — to tease
  15. court — of law
  16. band — a ring
  17. court — for sport
  18. pit — a fruit stone
  19. date — on the calendar
  20. pit — a hole
  21. band — a rubber band
  22. date — the fruit
  23. stem — of a plant
  24. kid — child

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