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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 · fall · drill · pound · vault · file

  1. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  2. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  3. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  4. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  5. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  6. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  7. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  8. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  9. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  10. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  11. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  12. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  13. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  14. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  15. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  16. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  17. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  18. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. drill — a practice
  2. file — a line of people
  3. shower — rain
  4. file — a document
  5. file — a tool
  6. fall — the season
  7. shower — a meteor shower
  8. vault — in gymnastics
  9. fall — to drop
  10. vault — an arched ceiling
  11. pound — to hit hard
  12. drill — the tool
  13. drill — army training
  14. shower — to wash
  15. fall — to drop
  16. pound — for dogs
  17. pound — a weight
  18. vault — a safe

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