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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 120 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 · last · vault · pass · cue · branch · cold · current

  1. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  2. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  3. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  4. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  5. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  6. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  7. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  8. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  9. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  10. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  11. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  12. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  13. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  14. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  15. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  16. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  17. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  18. The water is too ________________.
  19. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  20. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  21. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  22. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  23. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  24. False peace will not ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. current — happening now
  2. last — final
  3. current — of water
  4. branch — a division
  5. cue — a signal
  6. branch — of a tree
  7. vault — an arched ceiling
  8. vault — a safe
  9. shower — to wash
  10. cue — a hint
  11. cue — for pool
  12. cold — an illness
  13. pass — to succeed
  14. cold — the Cold War
  15. pass — a permit
  16. branch — of a bank
  17. vault — in gymnastics
  18. cold — not warm
  19. pass — to spend time
  20. current — electric
  21. shower — rain
  22. last — finally
  23. shower — a meteor shower
  24. last — to go on

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