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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: straw · bank · shower · perch · tube · cold · fall · vault

  1. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  2. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  3. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  4. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  5. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  6. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  7. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  8. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  9. I'll be taking the ________________.
  10. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  11. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  12. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  13. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  14. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  15. The water is too ________________.
  16. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  17. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  18. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  19. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  20. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  21. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  22. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  23. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  24. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — rain
  2. straw — dry grass
  3. bank — for money
  4. tube — in a tire
  5. bank — for money
  6. perch — the fish
  7. fall — the season
  8. fall — to drop
  9. tube — the underground
  10. shower — a meteor shower
  11. straw — a straw man
  12. vault — an arched ceiling
  13. cold — the Cold War
  14. vault — in gymnastics
  15. cold — not warm
  16. vault — a safe
  17. shower — to wash
  18. straw — to clutch at straws
  19. bank — of a river
  20. fall — to drop
  21. tube — a container
  22. cold — an illness
  23. perch — for a bird
  24. perch — for a bird

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