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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: vault · ball · root · shower · pass · bark · rash · cold

  1. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  2. Don't do anything ________________.
  3. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  4. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  5. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  6. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  7. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  8. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  9. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  10. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  11. The King held a masked ________________.
  12. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  13. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  14. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  15. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  16. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  17. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  18. The water is too ________________.
  19. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  20. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  21. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  22. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  23. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  24. We took cover from the thunder ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. vault — in gymnastics
  2. rash — hasty
  3. vault — an arched ceiling
  4. bark — to shout
  5. ball — a great time
  6. vault — a safe
  7. pass — to spend time
  8. root — of a word
  9. cold — the Cold War
  10. rash — a series
  11. ball — a dance
  12. cold — an illness
  13. shower — a meteor shower
  14. root — the cause
  15. pass — a permit
  16. pass — to succeed
  17. root — of a plant
  18. cold — not warm
  19. rash — on the skin
  20. shower — to wash
  21. ball — a round shape
  22. bark — of a tree
  23. bark — a dog's sound
  24. shower — rain

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