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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: cold · vault · kid · kick · pitcher · track · current · branch

  1. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  2. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  3. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  4. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  5. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  6. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  7. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  8. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  9. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  10. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  11. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  12. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  13. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  14. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  15. The water is too ________________.
  16. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  17. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  18. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  19. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  20. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  21. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  22. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  23. He is an ace ________________.
  24. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  2. kick — with a leg
  3. current — electric
  4. current — of water
  5. vault — an arched ceiling
  6. track — a path
  7. kid — child
  8. kid — to tease
  9. track — to keep track
  10. kick — a thrill
  11. pitcher — a jug
  12. branch — of a tree
  13. track — a song
  14. cold — an illness
  15. cold — not warm
  16. kick — in football
  17. vault — in gymnastics
  18. current — happening now
  19. pitcher — a jug
  20. vault — a safe
  21. branch — of a bank
  22. branch — a division
  23. pitcher — in baseball
  24. cold — the Cold War

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