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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: vault · cold · hide · pop · shower · game

  1. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  2. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  3. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  4. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  5. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  6. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  7. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  8. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  9. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  10. The water is too ________________.
  11. We're almost out of ________________.
  12. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  13. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  14. You don't need to ________________ round.
  15. That was a fun ________________.
  16. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  17. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  18. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.

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

Answer key

  1. game — wild animals
  2. hide — to keep secret
  3. pop — music
  4. cold — the Cold War
  5. cold — an illness
  6. shower — a meteor shower
  7. shower — to wash
  8. vault — a safe
  9. hide — to keep secret
  10. cold — not warm
  11. pop — soda
  12. hide — animal skin
  13. vault — in gymnastics
  14. pop — to visit
  15. game — a match
  16. vault — an arched ceiling
  17. shower — rain
  18. game — a kind of play

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