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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: current · vault · cell · pitcher · arm · band · pitch · bat

  1. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  2. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  3. He is an ace ________________.
  4. My father caught me by the ________________.
  5. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  6. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  7. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  8. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  9. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  10. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  11. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  12. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  13. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  14. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  15. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  16. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  17. He was locked up in a ________________.
  18. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  19. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  20. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  21. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  22. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  23. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  24. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.

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

Answer key

  1. current — happening now
  2. pitcher — a jug
  3. pitcher — in baseball
  4. arm — part of the body
  5. vault — in gymnastics
  6. current — electric
  7. bat — for baseball
  8. band — a music group
  9. vault — an arched ceiling
  10. cell — in biology
  11. pitch — a sports field
  12. pitcher — a jug
  13. pitch — a sales talk
  14. bat — in an idiom
  15. pitch — completely
  16. vault — a safe
  17. cell — in a prison
  18. band — a rubber band
  19. band — a ring
  20. bat — the animal
  21. current — of water
  22. arm — part of the body
  23. cell — a phone
  24. arm — a part of something

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