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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: chest · bay · vault · squash · present · shower · saw · mate

  1. Have you found your soul ________________?
  2. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  3. My mare is ________________ in color.
  4. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  5. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  6. He works in a ________________ mill.
  7. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  8. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  9. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  10. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  11. She's very handy with a ________________.
  12. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  13. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  14. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  15. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  16. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  17. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  18. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  19. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  20. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  21. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  22. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  23. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  24. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — a partner
  2. present — a gift
  3. bay — a horse colour
  4. chest — of your body
  5. vault — in gymnastics
  6. saw — the tool
  7. present — the time now
  8. mate — a friend
  9. vault — a safe
  10. saw — past of 'see'
  11. saw — the tool
  12. squash — to crush
  13. present — there
  14. shower — rain
  15. mate — to breed
  16. bay — to keep at bay
  17. vault — an arched ceiling
  18. chest — a box
  19. shower — to wash
  20. bay — a part of the sea
  21. shower — a meteor shower
  22. squash — the vegetable
  23. squash — the sport
  24. chest — of your body

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