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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: shower · toast · wave · vault · spring · nail · court · bat

  1. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  2. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  3. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  4. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  5. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  6. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  7. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  8. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  9. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  10. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  11. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  12. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  13. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  14. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  15. The ball is in your ________________.
  16. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  17. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  18. The ________________ went through the wall.
  19. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  20. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  21. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  22. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  23. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  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. spring — a coil
  2. shower — to wash
  3. bat — in an idiom
  4. shower — rain
  5. nail — on a finger
  6. toast — the most admired
  7. wave — of the sea
  8. vault — in gymnastics
  9. toast — bread
  10. wave — a sudden rise
  11. wave — with your hand
  12. vault — a safe
  13. shower — a meteor shower
  14. bat — for baseball
  15. court — for sport
  16. toast — a drink to someone
  17. court — of law
  18. nail — for a hammer
  19. spring — the season
  20. bat — the animal
  21. court — of a king
  22. spring — of water
  23. nail — for a hammer
  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