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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 · deal · can · cabinet · net · cold · shower · kick

  1. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  2. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  3. The water is too ________________.
  4. What do you think of the new ________________?
  5. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  6. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  7. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  8. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  9. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  10. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  11. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  12. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  13. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  14. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  15. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  16. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  17. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  18. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  19. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  20. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  21. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  22. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  23. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  24. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. vault — an arched ceiling
  2. shower — to wash
  3. cold — not warm
  4. cabinet — ministers
  5. kick — a thrill
  6. kick — in football
  7. net — for catching
  8. cold — the Cold War
  9. vault — a safe
  10. deal — an agreement
  11. net — in sport
  12. cabinet — a cupboard
  13. can — a tin
  14. kick — with a leg
  15. can — to be able to
  16. can — a tin
  17. net — after costs
  18. shower — rain
  19. vault — in gymnastics
  20. deal — a big deal
  21. cold — an illness
  22. cabinet — ministers
  23. deal — to handle
  24. shower — a meteor shower

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