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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: vault · scale · march · season · clip · chip · shower · pitcher

  1. He is an ace ________________.
  2. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  3. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  4. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  5. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  6. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  7. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  8. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  9. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  10. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  11. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  12. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  13. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  14. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  15. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  16. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  17. Did you ________________ the meat?
  18. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  19. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  20. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  21. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  22. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  23. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  24. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — in baseball
  2. march — the month
  3. clip — for paper
  4. season — in sport
  5. vault — a safe
  6. shower — a meteor shower
  7. chip — for betting
  8. season — of the year
  9. shower — rain
  10. march — music
  11. scale — size or range
  12. march — the month
  13. chip — in a computer
  14. scale — in music
  15. shower — to wash
  16. clip — a video
  17. season — to add flavour
  18. clip — to cut
  19. vault — in gymnastics
  20. pitcher — a jug
  21. pitcher — a jug
  22. scale — for weighing
  23. chip — to eat
  24. vault — an arched ceiling

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