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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: chair · spring · shower · vault · calf · wound · chip · mouse

  1. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  2. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  3. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  4. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  5. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  6. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  7. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  8. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  9. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  10. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  11. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  12. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  13. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  14. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  15. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  16. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  17. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  18. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  19. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  20. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  21. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  22. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  23. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  24. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.

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

Answer key

  1. vault — a safe
  2. mouse — for a computer
  3. vault — in gymnastics
  4. chair — a professorship
  5. shower — to wash
  6. chip — in a computer
  7. chip — to eat
  8. wound — an injury
  9. shower — a meteor shower
  10. chair — to sit on
  11. mouse — the animal
  12. vault — an arched ceiling
  13. calf — a young animal
  14. wound — past of 'wind'
  15. mouse — the animal
  16. spring — a coil
  17. calf — a young animal
  18. spring — the season
  19. calf — of the leg
  20. wound — an injury
  21. spring — of water
  22. shower — rain
  23. chair — a leader
  24. chip — for betting

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