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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: field · branch · cabinet · cold · vault · shower · club · patient

  1. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  2. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  3. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  4. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  5. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  6. What do you think of the new ________________?
  7. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  8. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  9. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  10. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  11. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  12. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  13. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  14. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  15. The water is too ________________.
  16. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  17. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  18. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  19. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  20. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  21. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  22. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  23. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  24. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. vault — in gymnastics
  2. cabinet — ministers
  3. branch — of a bank
  4. field — for sport
  5. patient — a sick person
  6. cabinet — ministers
  7. shower — to wash
  8. field — farmland
  9. vault — a safe
  10. vault — an arched ceiling
  11. branch — a division
  12. club — for dancing
  13. cold — an illness
  14. patient — calm and waiting
  15. cold — not warm
  16. patient — a sick person
  17. shower — a meteor shower
  18. branch — of a tree
  19. shower — rain
  20. club — a group
  21. cold — the Cold War
  22. club — for golf
  23. field — a subject
  24. cabinet — a cupboard

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