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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: vault · chip · kid · stand · season · spell · march · jam

  1. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  2. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  3. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  4. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  5. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  6. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  7. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  8. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  9. How do you ________________ your surname?
  10. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  11. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  12. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  13. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  14. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  15. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  16. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  17. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  18. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  19. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  20. I can't ________________ this cold.
  21. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  22. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  23. Did you ________________ the meat?
  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. jam — to spread on bread
  2. kid — to tease
  3. march — music
  4. march — the month
  5. kid — child
  6. chip — to eat
  7. stand — for spectators
  8. vault — a safe
  9. spell — letters
  10. spell — magic
  11. stand — on your feet
  12. vault — an arched ceiling
  13. jam — in traffic
  14. jam — a tight spot
  15. march — the month
  16. chip — in a computer
  17. season — of the year
  18. season — in sport
  19. spell — a short time
  20. stand — to bear
  21. vault — in gymnastics
  22. chip — for betting
  23. season — to add flavour
  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