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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 · ruler · row · last · shower · cold

  1. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  2. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  3. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  4. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  5. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  6. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  7. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  8. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  9. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  10. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  11. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  12. The water is too ________________.
  13. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  14. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  15. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  16. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  17. False peace will not ________________.
  18. We took cover from the thunder ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. ruler — for measuring
  2. row — to paddle
  3. last — finally
  4. vault — in gymnastics
  5. row — a quarrel
  6. row — a line
  7. last — final
  8. vault — a safe
  9. shower — to wash
  10. cold — an illness
  11. ruler — for measuring
  12. cold — not warm
  13. vault — an arched ceiling
  14. shower — a meteor shower
  15. ruler — a monarch
  16. cold — the Cold War
  17. last — to go on
  18. shower — rain

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