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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 116 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: land · vault · squash · shower · face · deal

  1. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  2. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  3. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  4. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  5. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  6. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  7. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  8. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  9. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  10. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  11. When are we going to ________________?
  12. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  13. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  14. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  15. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  16. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  17. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  18. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.

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

Answer key

  1. land — ground
  2. vault — a safe
  3. face — to confront
  4. squash — the sport
  5. face — part of the head
  6. vault — an arched ceiling
  7. squash — the vegetable
  8. vault — in gymnastics
  9. shower — a meteor shower
  10. face — to point toward
  11. land — to come down
  12. deal — a big deal
  13. deal — to handle
  14. shower — to wash
  15. deal — an agreement
  16. shower — rain
  17. land — a country
  18. squash — to crush

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