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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: ground · shower · dip · racket · vault · tear

  1. There's no middle ________________.
  2. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  3. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  4. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  5. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  6. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  7. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  8. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  9. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  10. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  11. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  12. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  13. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  14. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  15. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  16. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  17. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  18. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — a position
  2. tear — from crying
  3. ground — crushed
  4. racket — for tennis
  5. shower — rain
  6. vault — in gymnastics
  7. vault — a safe
  8. racket — a loud noise
  9. dip — to dunk
  10. shower — to wash
  11. shower — a meteor shower
  12. dip — a sauce
  13. dip — to sink
  14. vault — an arched ceiling
  15. tear — to rip
  16. racket — for tennis
  17. tear — from crying
  18. ground — the earth

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