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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: net · cold · scale · shower · cue · mine · spring · vault

  1. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  2. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  3. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  4. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  5. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  6. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  7. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  8. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  9. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  10. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  11. The water is too ________________.
  12. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  13. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  14. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  15. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  16. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  17. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  18. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  19. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  20. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  21. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  22. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  23. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  24. I'll take my ________________ from you.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — a meteor shower
  2. vault — an arched ceiling
  3. cue — a signal
  4. spring — of water
  5. mine — an explosive
  6. scale — for weighing
  7. spring — the season
  8. scale — in music
  9. cold — the Cold War
  10. vault — a safe
  11. cold — not warm
  12. cue — for pool
  13. shower — to wash
  14. cold — an illness
  15. net — for catching
  16. shower — rain
  17. vault — in gymnastics
  18. net — after costs
  19. scale — size or range
  20. net — in sport
  21. mine — belonging to me
  22. mine — for digging
  23. spring — a coil
  24. cue — a hint

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