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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: rash · spell · vault · game · shower · land · kid · roll

  1. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  2. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  3. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  4. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  5. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  6. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  7. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  8. Don't do anything ________________.
  9. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  10. We're on a ________________ here.
  11. That was a fun ________________.
  12. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  13. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  14. How do you ________________ your surname?
  15. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  16. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  17. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  18. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  19. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  20. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  21. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  22. When are we going to ________________?
  23. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  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. kid — to tease
  2. rash — on the skin
  3. shower — rain
  4. game — wild animals
  5. spell — magic
  6. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  7. rash — a series
  8. rash — hasty
  9. land — a country
  10. roll — on a roll
  11. game — a match
  12. vault — in gymnastics
  13. shower — to wash
  14. spell — letters
  15. roll — a cake
  16. kid — child
  17. game — a kind of play
  18. spell — a short time
  19. land — ground
  20. roll — a list
  21. vault — a safe
  22. land — to come down
  23. vault — an arched ceiling
  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