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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 120 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 · sharp · face · vault · court · stand · ground · tube

  1. There's no middle ________________.
  2. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  3. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  4. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  5. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  6. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  7. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  8. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  9. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  10. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  11. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  12. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  13. It's one o'clock ________________.
  14. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  15. I can't ________________ this cold.
  16. The ball is in your ________________.
  17. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  18. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  19. I'll be taking the ________________.
  20. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  21. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  22. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  23. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  24. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — a position
  2. tube — a container
  3. court — of law
  4. vault — in gymnastics
  5. ground — the earth
  6. shower — a meteor shower
  7. tube — in a tire
  8. shower — rain
  9. stand — on your feet
  10. sharp — clever
  11. face — to point toward
  12. face — part of the head
  13. sharp — exactly
  14. vault — a safe
  15. stand — to bear
  16. court — for sport
  17. ground — crushed
  18. face — to confront
  19. tube — the underground
  20. court — of a king
  21. stand — for spectators
  22. shower — to wash
  23. sharp — with an edge
  24. vault — an arched ceiling

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