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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 116 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 · stick · branch · cold · court · mine · drill · season

  1. The ball is in your ________________.
  2. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  3. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  4. The water is too ________________.
  5. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  6. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  7. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  8. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  9. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  10. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  11. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  12. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  13. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  14. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  15. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  16. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  17. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  18. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  19. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  20. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  21. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  22. Did you ________________ the meat?
  23. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  24. She's sitting on a gold ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. court — for sport
  2. drill — the tool
  3. season — in sport
  4. cold — not warm
  5. vault — in gymnastics
  6. drill — a practice
  7. branch — of a tree
  8. vault — a safe
  9. stick — a piece of wood
  10. stick — to attach or keep to
  11. mine — an explosive
  12. vault — an arched ceiling
  13. mine — belonging to me
  14. cold — an illness
  15. cold — the Cold War
  16. drill — army training
  17. branch — a division
  18. season — of the year
  19. branch — of a bank
  20. court — of a king
  21. court — of law
  22. season — to add flavour
  23. stick — a piece of wood
  24. mine — for digging

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