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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: ball · vault · band · straw · chest · pitcher · can · coach

  1. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  2. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  3. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  4. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  5. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  6. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  7. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  8. Have you met the new head ________________?
  9. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  10. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  11. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  12. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  13. The King held a masked ________________.
  14. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  15. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  16. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  17. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  18. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  19. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  20. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  21. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  22. He is an ace ________________.
  23. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  24. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — a jug
  2. can — a tin
  3. chest — of your body
  4. vault — a safe
  5. chest — of your body
  6. vault — in gymnastics
  7. chest — a box
  8. coach — a trainer
  9. coach — a trainer
  10. straw — a straw man
  11. band — a rubber band
  12. ball — a round shape
  13. ball — a dance
  14. coach — pulled by horses
  15. pitcher — a jug
  16. straw — to clutch at straws
  17. can — to be able to
  18. band — a music group
  19. band — a ring
  20. vault — an arched ceiling
  21. ball — a great time
  22. pitcher — in baseball
  23. can — a tin
  24. straw — dry grass

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