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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: wave · vault · straw · pit · pop · shower · board · court

  1. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  2. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  3. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  4. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  5. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  6. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  7. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  8. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  9. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  10. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  11. The ball is in your ________________.
  12. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  13. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  14. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  15. We're almost out of ________________.
  16. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  17. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  18. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  19. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  20. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  21. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  22. You don't need to ________________ round.
  23. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  24. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — to wash
  2. pit — a hole
  3. wave — a sudden rise
  4. pit — a fruit stone
  5. board — a committee
  6. court — of law
  7. shower — a meteor shower
  8. vault — a safe
  9. pit — in a race
  10. vault — in gymnastics
  11. court — for sport
  12. wave — of the sea
  13. board — to get on
  14. straw — dry grass
  15. pop — soda
  16. straw — to clutch at straws
  17. straw — a straw man
  18. pop — music
  19. court — of a king
  20. vault — an arched ceiling
  21. board — a flat piece
  22. pop — to visit
  23. shower — rain
  24. wave — with your hand

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