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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.

Words on the sheet
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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 · kid · branch · bass · pitcher · file · season · fine

  1. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  2. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  3. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  4. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  5. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  6. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  7. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  8. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  9. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  10. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  11. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  12. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  13. Did you ________________ the meat?
  14. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  15. He is an ace ________________.
  16. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  17. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  18. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  19. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  20. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  21. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  22. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  23. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  24. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — child
  2. fine — a penalty
  3. pitcher — a jug
  4. bass — the instrument
  5. kid — to tease
  6. branch — a division
  7. bass — the fish
  8. vault — in gymnastics
  9. file — a document
  10. season — in sport
  11. fine — high quality
  12. season — of the year
  13. season — to add flavour
  14. file — a tool
  15. pitcher — in baseball
  16. vault — a safe
  17. vault — an arched ceiling
  18. fine — all right
  19. bass — low music
  20. pitcher — a jug
  21. branch — of a tree
  22. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  23. file — a line of people
  24. branch — of a bank

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