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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: game · stick · kid · kick · bay · vault · bowl · shower

  1. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  2. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  3. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  4. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  5. My mare is ________________ in color.
  6. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  7. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  8. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  9. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  10. That was a fun ________________.
  11. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  12. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  13. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  14. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  15. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  16. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  17. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  18. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  19. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  20. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  21. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  22. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  23. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  24. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — a dish
  2. bay — to keep at bay
  3. shower — a meteor shower
  4. bowl — to roll
  5. bay — a horse colour
  6. vault — a safe
  7. vault — an arched ceiling
  8. bowl — a football final
  9. stick — a piece of wood
  10. game — a match
  11. game — a kind of play
  12. bay — a part of the sea
  13. kick — with a leg
  14. stick — a piece of wood
  15. kid — child
  16. kid — to tease
  17. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  18. kick — in football
  19. shower — to wash
  20. kick — a thrill
  21. vault — in gymnastics
  22. shower — rain
  23. game — wild animals
  24. stick — to attach or keep to

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