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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: kid · patient · season · coach · clip · bear · shower · vault

  1. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  2. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  3. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  4. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  5. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  6. Did you ________________ the meat?
  7. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  8. Have you met the new head ________________?
  9. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  10. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  11. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  12. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  13. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  14. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  15. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  16. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  17. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  18. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  19. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  20. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  21. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  22. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  23. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  24. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.

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

Answer key

  1. season — in sport
  2. clip — for paper
  3. vault — in gymnastics
  4. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  5. clip — a video
  6. season — to add flavour
  7. bear — the animal
  8. coach — a trainer
  9. clip — to cut
  10. coach — pulled by horses
  11. coach — a trainer
  12. vault — a safe
  13. season — of the year
  14. kid — child
  15. patient — calm and waiting
  16. patient — a sick person
  17. bear — to put up with
  18. vault — an arched ceiling
  19. patient — a sick person
  20. shower — rain
  21. shower — a meteor shower
  22. shower — to wash
  23. bear — the animal
  24. kid — to tease

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