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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 · bowl · kick · rash · cap · vault

  1. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  2. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  3. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  4. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  5. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  6. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  7. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  8. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  9. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  10. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  11. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  12. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  13. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  14. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  15. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  16. Don't do anything ________________.
  17. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  18. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — rain
  2. kick — a thrill
  3. bowl — a football final
  4. vault — an arched ceiling
  5. bowl — to roll
  6. rash — on the skin
  7. shower — to wash
  8. bowl — a dish
  9. rash — a series
  10. shower — a meteor shower
  11. vault — in gymnastics
  12. cap — a hat
  13. cap — a lid
  14. kick — with a leg
  15. vault — a safe
  16. rash — hasty
  17. cap — of ice
  18. kick — in football

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