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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: march · cold · vault · shower · bound · deal · kid · pitcher

  1. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  2. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  3. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  4. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  5. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  6. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  7. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  8. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  9. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  10. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  11. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  12. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  13. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  14. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  15. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  16. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  17. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  18. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  19. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  20. That was ________________ to happen.
  21. He is an ace ________________.
  22. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  23. The water is too ________________.
  24. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.

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

Answer key

  1. vault — a safe
  2. shower — rain
  3. kid — child
  4. shower — a meteor shower
  5. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  6. bound — obliged
  7. march — music
  8. march — the month
  9. shower — to wash
  10. vault — an arched ceiling
  11. vault — in gymnastics
  12. cold — the Cold War
  13. deal — a big deal
  14. deal — to handle
  15. cold — an illness
  16. pitcher — a jug
  17. bound — tied together
  18. pitcher — a jug
  19. march — the month
  20. bound — certain
  21. pitcher — in baseball
  22. deal — an agreement
  23. cold — not warm
  24. kid — to tease

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