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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: shower · mouse · vault · kid · capital · chair

  1. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  2. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  3. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  4. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  5. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  6. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  7. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  8. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  9. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  10. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  11. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  12. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  13. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  14. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  15. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  16. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  17. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  18. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mouse — the animal
  2. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  3. vault — in gymnastics
  4. kid — to tease
  5. mouse — for a computer
  6. chair — to sit on
  7. kid — child
  8. shower — to wash
  9. chair — a professorship
  10. vault — an arched ceiling
  11. capital — money
  12. chair — a leader
  13. capital — a city
  14. capital — a big letter
  15. mouse — the animal
  16. shower — rain
  17. vault — a safe
  18. shower — a meteor shower

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