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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: spell · fan · vault · court · cell · chest · object · kid

  1. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  2. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  3. He was locked up in a ________________.
  4. The ball is in your ________________.
  5. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  6. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  7. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  8. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  9. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  10. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  11. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  12. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  13. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  14. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  15. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  16. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  17. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  18. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  19. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  20. How do you ________________ your surname?
  21. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  22. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  23. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  24. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — of your body
  2. vault — an arched ceiling
  3. cell — in a prison
  4. court — for sport
  5. fan — a supporter
  6. court — of law
  7. cell — in biology
  8. vault — in gymnastics
  9. chest — a box
  10. object — a thing
  11. cell — a phone
  12. fan — to cool the air
  13. fan — a supporter
  14. vault — a safe
  15. object — to protest
  16. kid — child
  17. chest — of your body
  18. court — of a king
  19. object — an aim
  20. spell — letters
  21. kid — to tease
  22. spell — magic
  23. spell — a short time
  24. kid — young goat (kid gloves)

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