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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: fall · march · hand · net · present · shower · vault · tear

  1. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  2. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  3. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  4. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  5. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  6. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  7. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  8. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  9. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  10. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  11. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  12. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  13. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  14. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  15. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  16. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  17. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  18. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  19. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  20. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  21. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  22. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  23. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  24. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — a meteor shower
  2. vault — an arched ceiling
  3. hand — part of the body
  4. fall — to drop
  5. hand — help
  6. tear — from crying
  7. march — the month
  8. vault — a safe
  9. present — there
  10. present — the time now
  11. fall — to drop
  12. shower — to wash
  13. hand — in cards
  14. present — a gift
  15. tear — to rip
  16. net — for catching
  17. shower — rain
  18. tear — from crying
  19. net — in sport
  20. fall — the season
  21. vault — in gymnastics
  22. march — the month
  23. net — after costs
  24. march — music

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