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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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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: temple · vault · ball · row · fall · shower · court · pit

  1. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  2. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  3. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  4. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  5. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  6. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  7. The ball is in your ________________.
  8. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  9. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  10. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  11. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  12. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  13. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  14. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  15. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  16. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  17. When was this ________________ built?
  18. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  19. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  20. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  21. The King held a masked ________________.
  22. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  23. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  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. shower — to wash
  2. pit — in a race
  3. court — of law
  4. vault — a safe
  5. pit — a hole
  6. fall — the season
  7. court — for sport
  8. vault — in gymnastics
  9. row — a quarrel
  10. vault — an arched ceiling
  11. ball — a great time
  12. pit — a fruit stone
  13. row — to paddle
  14. fall — to drop
  15. row — a line
  16. ball — a round shape
  17. temple — a place of worship
  18. temple — a place of worship
  19. fall — to drop
  20. temple — side of the head
  21. ball — a dance
  22. court — of a king
  23. shower — rain
  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