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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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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: pit · vault · row · clip · kid · racket · rock · shower

  1. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  2. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  3. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  4. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  5. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  6. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  7. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  8. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  9. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  10. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  11. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  12. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  13. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  14. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  15. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  16. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  17. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  18. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  19. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  20. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  21. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  22. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  23. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  24. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — rain
  2. racket — for tennis
  3. shower — a meteor shower
  4. racket — a loud noise
  5. vault — an arched ceiling
  6. vault — a safe
  7. kid — to tease
  8. shower — to wash
  9. pit — a fruit stone
  10. row — a quarrel
  11. rock — music
  12. pit — in a race
  13. rock — to move gently
  14. pit — a hole
  15. vault — in gymnastics
  16. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  17. row — to paddle
  18. clip — a video
  19. racket — for tennis
  20. rock — a stone
  21. row — a line
  22. clip — for paper
  23. kid — child
  24. clip — to cut

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