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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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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 · mouse · shower · wave · straw · cell

  1. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  2. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  3. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  4. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  5. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  6. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  7. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  8. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  9. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  10. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  11. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  12. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  13. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  14. He was locked up in a ________________.
  15. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  16. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  17. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  18. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — dry grass
  2. vault — a safe
  3. wave — a sudden rise
  4. mouse — the animal
  5. straw — to clutch at straws
  6. mouse — for a computer
  7. cell — a phone
  8. wave — of the sea
  9. shower — to wash
  10. shower — a meteor shower
  11. vault — an arched ceiling
  12. straw — a straw man
  13. cell — in biology
  14. cell — in a prison
  15. mouse — the animal
  16. wave — with your hand
  17. shower — rain
  18. vault — in gymnastics

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