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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: kid · bank · ball · sharp · bay · cold · pitcher · vault

  1. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  2. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  3. It's one o'clock ________________.
  4. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  5. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  6. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  7. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  8. The King held a masked ________________.
  9. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  10. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  11. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  12. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  13. The water is too ________________.
  14. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  15. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  16. My mare is ________________ in color.
  17. He is an ace ________________.
  18. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  19. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  20. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  21. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  22. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  23. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  24. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. ball — a great time
  2. pitcher — a jug
  3. sharp — exactly
  4. bank — of a river
  5. bay — a part of the sea
  6. cold — an illness
  7. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  8. ball — a dance
  9. pitcher — a jug
  10. bank — for money
  11. vault — in gymnastics
  12. bay — to keep at bay
  13. cold — not warm
  14. kid — child
  15. bank — for money
  16. bay — a horse colour
  17. pitcher — in baseball
  18. cold — the Cold War
  19. ball — a round shape
  20. vault — an arched ceiling
  21. sharp — clever
  22. sharp — with an edge
  23. kid — to tease
  24. vault — a safe

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