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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: kid · tear · vault · coach · branch · chest

  1. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  2. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  3. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  4. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  5. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  6. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  7. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  8. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  9. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  10. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  11. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  12. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  13. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  14. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  15. Have you met the new head ________________?
  16. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  17. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  18. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.

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

Answer key

  1. coach — pulled by horses
  2. vault — in gymnastics
  3. chest — of your body
  4. tear — to rip
  5. tear — from crying
  6. coach — a trainer
  7. tear — from crying
  8. branch — of a tree
  9. vault — an arched ceiling
  10. branch — of a bank
  11. vault — a safe
  12. kid — to tease
  13. kid — child
  14. branch — a division
  15. coach — a trainer
  16. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  17. chest — a box
  18. chest — of your body

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