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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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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 · roll · craft · cold · vault · plane · branch · bay

  1. My mare is ________________ in color.
  2. We're on a ________________ here.
  3. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  4. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  5. The water is too ________________.
  6. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  7. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  8. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  9. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  10. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  11. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  12. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  13. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  14. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  15. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  16. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  17. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  18. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  19. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  20. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  21. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  22. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  23. The ________________ took off on time.
  24. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bay — a horse colour
  2. roll — on a roll
  3. cold — an illness
  4. vault — an arched ceiling
  5. cold — not warm
  6. branch — of a tree
  7. branch — of a bank
  8. craft — boats
  9. shower — a meteor shower
  10. bay — a part of the sea
  11. vault — a safe
  12. shower — to wash
  13. branch — a division
  14. roll — a list
  15. cold — the Cold War
  16. vault — in gymnastics
  17. craft — a handicraft
  18. roll — a cake
  19. shower — rain
  20. bay — to keep at bay
  21. plane — a tool
  22. craft — a skill
  23. plane — an aircraft
  24. plane — in geometry

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