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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 120 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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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: bank · bowl · season · race · pitcher · content · vault · foot

  1. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  2. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  3. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  4. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  5. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  6. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  7. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  8. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  9. He is an ace ________________.
  10. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  11. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  12. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  13. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  14. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  15. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  16. Did you ________________ the meat?
  17. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  18. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  19. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  20. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  21. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  22. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  23. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  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. bank — for money
  2. pitcher — a jug
  3. season — of the year
  4. content — the amount
  5. foot — a measure
  6. vault — a safe
  7. content — videos and posts
  8. bowl — a football final
  9. pitcher — in baseball
  10. vault — an arched ceiling
  11. content — happy
  12. bank — for money
  13. bowl — a dish
  14. bowl — to roll
  15. race — humankind
  16. season — to add flavour
  17. pitcher — a jug
  18. bank — of a river
  19. season — in sport
  20. race — the arms race
  21. foot — the bottom
  22. race — a contest
  23. foot — part of the body
  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