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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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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: shower · season · march · pitcher · ground · scale · stand · vault

  1. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  2. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  3. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  4. He is an ace ________________.
  5. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  6. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  7. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  8. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  9. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  10. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  11. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  12. I can't ________________ this cold.
  13. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  14. There's no middle ________________.
  15. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  16. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  17. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  18. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  19. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  20. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  21. Did you ________________ the meat?
  22. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  23. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  24. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. vault — a safe
  2. pitcher — a jug
  3. stand — for spectators
  4. pitcher — in baseball
  5. shower — rain
  6. march — the month
  7. vault — in gymnastics
  8. season — in sport
  9. ground — the earth
  10. shower — a meteor shower
  11. vault — an arched ceiling
  12. stand — to bear
  13. scale — in music
  14. ground — a position
  15. stand — on your feet
  16. shower — to wash
  17. scale — for weighing
  18. march — the month
  19. march — music
  20. pitcher — a jug
  21. season — to add flavour
  22. ground — crushed
  23. season — of the year
  24. scale — size or range

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