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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: pitcher · vault · wind · cap · shower · chest · rush · march

  1. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  2. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  3. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  4. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  5. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  6. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  7. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  8. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  9. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  10. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  11. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  12. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  13. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  14. That must've been a ________________.
  15. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  16. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  17. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  18. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  19. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  20. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  21. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  22. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  23. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  24. He is an ace ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rush — hurry
  2. chest — of your body
  3. pitcher — a jug
  4. cap — a lid
  5. chest — a box
  6. march — the month
  7. cap — of ice
  8. cap — a hat
  9. wind — moving air
  10. vault — an arched ceiling
  11. wind — to turn a key
  12. wind — moving air
  13. shower — rain
  14. rush — a thrill
  15. rush — to hurry
  16. shower — a meteor shower
  17. pitcher — a jug
  18. vault — in gymnastics
  19. shower — to wash
  20. vault — a safe
  21. chest — of your body
  22. march — music
  23. march — the month
  24. pitcher — in baseball

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