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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 116 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: perch · plane · coach · vault · cold · spring · shower · squash

  1. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  2. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  3. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  4. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  5. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  6. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  7. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  8. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  9. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  10. The water is too ________________.
  11. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  12. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  13. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  14. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  15. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  16. The ________________ took off on time.
  17. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  18. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  19. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  20. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  21. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  22. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  23. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  24. Have you met the new head ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. squash — to crush
  2. plane — in geometry
  3. perch — for a bird
  4. shower — a meteor shower
  5. vault — in gymnastics
  6. perch — the fish
  7. vault — a safe
  8. plane — a tool
  9. squash — the vegetable
  10. cold — not warm
  11. shower — to wash
  12. spring — a coil
  13. spring — the season
  14. squash — the sport
  15. shower — rain
  16. plane — an aircraft
  17. spring — of water
  18. coach — a trainer
  19. perch — for a bird
  20. coach — pulled by horses
  21. cold — an illness
  22. cold — the Cold War
  23. vault — an arched ceiling
  24. coach — a trainer

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