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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: wound · vault · kid · press · stand · court · season · branch

  1. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  2. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  3. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  4. Did you ________________ the meat?
  5. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  6. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  7. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  8. Did you ________________ the button?
  9. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  10. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  11. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  12. I can't ________________ this cold.
  13. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  14. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  15. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  16. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  17. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  18. The ball is in your ________________.
  19. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  20. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  21. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  22. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  23. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  24. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — to tease
  2. vault — a safe
  3. stand — for spectators
  4. season — to add flavour
  5. wound — an injury
  6. season — of the year
  7. wound — an injury
  8. press — to push
  9. press — newspapers
  10. branch — of a bank
  11. stand — on your feet
  12. stand — to bear
  13. court — of a king
  14. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  15. kid — child
  16. press — a publisher
  17. vault — an arched ceiling
  18. court — for sport
  19. wound — past of 'wind'
  20. season — in sport
  21. court — of law
  22. branch — a division
  23. branch — of a tree
  24. vault — in gymnastics

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