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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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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: shower · vault · wave · swing · cold · stick

  1. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  2. The water is too ________________.
  3. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  4. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  5. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  6. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  7. David sat on the ________________.
  8. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  9. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  10. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  11. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  12. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  13. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  14. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  15. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  16. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  17. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  18. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.

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

Answer key

  1. vault — in gymnastics
  2. cold — not warm
  3. cold — the Cold War
  4. stick — to attach or keep to
  5. wave — with your hand
  6. cold — an illness
  7. swing — to play on
  8. vault — an arched ceiling
  9. shower — rain
  10. stick — a piece of wood
  11. shower — a meteor shower
  12. vault — a safe
  13. wave — a sudden rise
  14. stick — a piece of wood
  15. swing — music
  16. shower — to wash
  17. wave — of the sea
  18. swing — in golf

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