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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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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: bore · wind · pit · pitcher · cell · vault · saw · shower

  1. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  2. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  3. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  4. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  5. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  6. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  7. He works in a ________________ mill.
  8. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  9. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  10. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  11. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  12. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  13. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  14. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  15. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  16. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  17. He was locked up in a ________________.
  18. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  19. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  20. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  21. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  22. He is an ace ________________.
  23. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  24. She's very handy with a ________________.

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. pit — a hole
  4. vault — in gymnastics
  5. saw — past of 'see'
  6. cell — a phone
  7. saw — the tool
  8. pit — in a race
  9. wind — to turn a key
  10. cell — in biology
  11. shower — a meteor shower
  12. pitcher — a jug
  13. bore — to tire
  14. vault — a safe
  15. bore — to drill
  16. pit — a fruit stone
  17. cell — in a prison
  18. shower — rain
  19. wind — moving air
  20. pitcher — a jug
  21. wind — moving air
  22. pitcher — in baseball
  23. bore — gave birth
  24. saw — the tool

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