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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: shower · press · kid · bass · kick · vault

  1. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  2. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  3. Did you ________________ the button?
  4. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  5. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  6. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  7. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  8. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  9. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  10. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  11. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  12. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  13. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  14. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  15. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  16. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  17. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  18. He's taking a ________________ right now.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  2. bass — the instrument
  3. press — to push
  4. kick — with a leg
  5. vault — a safe
  6. kick — in football
  7. bass — the fish
  8. shower — rain
  9. kid — to tease
  10. press — newspapers
  11. press — a publisher
  12. vault — an arched ceiling
  13. bass — low music
  14. kid — child
  15. vault — in gymnastics
  16. shower — a meteor shower
  17. kick — a thrill
  18. shower — to wash

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