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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 116 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 · mate · file · club · wind · season · pitcher · bore

  1. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  2. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  3. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  4. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  5. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  6. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  7. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  8. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  9. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  10. He is an ace ________________.
  11. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  12. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  13. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  14. Did you ________________ the meat?
  15. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  16. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  17. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  18. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  19. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  20. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  21. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  22. Have you found your soul ________________?
  23. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  24. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.

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

Answer key

  1. bore — to drill
  2. season — in sport
  3. vault — a safe
  4. mate — to breed
  5. file — a tool
  6. club — for dancing
  7. file — a document
  8. club — for golf
  9. bore — to tire
  10. pitcher — in baseball
  11. bore — gave birth
  12. pitcher — a jug
  13. wind — moving air
  14. season — to add flavour
  15. club — a group
  16. vault — an arched ceiling
  17. wind — to turn a key
  18. mate — a friend
  19. file — a line of people
  20. pitcher — a jug
  21. season — of the year
  22. mate — a partner
  23. vault — in gymnastics
  24. wind — moving air

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