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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 · kid · drill · ball · mouse · cold · vault · tube

  1. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  2. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  3. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  4. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  5. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  6. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  7. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  8. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  9. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  10. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  11. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  12. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  13. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  14. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  15. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  16. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  17. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  18. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  19. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  20. The King held a masked ________________.
  21. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  22. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  23. I'll be taking the ________________.
  24. The water is too ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. vault — an arched ceiling
  2. mouse — the animal
  3. shower — a meteor shower
  4. vault — in gymnastics
  5. ball — a round shape
  6. drill — a practice
  7. ball — a great time
  8. tube — a container
  9. cold — the Cold War
  10. tube — in a tire
  11. cold — an illness
  12. shower — rain
  13. kid — child
  14. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  15. mouse — the animal
  16. mouse — for a computer
  17. vault — a safe
  18. drill — the tool
  19. shower — to wash
  20. ball — a dance
  21. kid — to tease
  22. drill — army training
  23. tube — the underground
  24. cold — not warm

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