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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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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: branch · last · pitcher · shower · row · season · vault · snap

  1. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  2. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  3. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  4. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  5. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  6. He is an ace ________________.
  7. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  8. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  9. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  10. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  11. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  12. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  13. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  14. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  15. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  16. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  17. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  18. Did you ________________ the meat?
  19. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  20. False peace will not ________________.
  21. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  22. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  23. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  24. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.

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

Answer key

  1. last — finally
  2. vault — a safe
  3. pitcher — a jug
  4. snap — to click
  5. shower — rain
  6. pitcher — in baseball
  7. vault — an arched ceiling
  8. row — to paddle
  9. shower — a meteor shower
  10. row — a line
  11. season — in sport
  12. snap — to speak sharply
  13. season — of the year
  14. snap — to snap out of it
  15. row — a quarrel
  16. last — final
  17. pitcher — a jug
  18. season — to add flavour
  19. branch — of a bank
  20. last — to go on
  21. branch — a division
  22. vault — in gymnastics
  23. shower — to wash
  24. branch — of a tree

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