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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 116 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: vault · wind · perch · hand · kid · bulb · bowl · shower

  1. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  2. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  3. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  4. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  5. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  6. The light ________________ burned out.
  7. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  8. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  9. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  10. I've got to change the light ________________.
  11. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  12. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  13. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  14. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  15. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  16. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  17. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  18. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  19. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  20. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  21. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  22. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  23. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  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. perch — for a bird
  2. wind — moving air
  3. bowl — a dish
  4. perch — the fish
  5. bowl — a football final
  6. bulb — for light
  7. bowl — to roll
  8. vault — a safe
  9. wind — to turn a key
  10. bulb — for light
  11. kid — child
  12. hand — part of the body
  13. vault — in gymnastics
  14. shower — rain
  15. kid — to tease
  16. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  17. bulb — of a plant
  18. wind — moving air
  19. hand — help
  20. shower — to wash
  21. shower — a meteor shower
  22. perch — for a bird
  23. hand — in cards
  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