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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: cell · saw · shower · toast · wound · vault · squash · mine

  1. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  2. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  3. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  4. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  5. He works in a ________________ mill.
  6. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  7. He was locked up in a ________________.
  8. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  9. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  10. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  11. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  12. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  13. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  14. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  15. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  16. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  17. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  18. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  19. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  20. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  21. She's very handy with a ________________.
  22. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  23. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  24. She's sitting on a gold ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — belonging to me
  2. shower — rain
  3. cell — in biology
  4. mine — an explosive
  5. saw — the tool
  6. squash — the vegetable
  7. cell — in a prison
  8. cell — a phone
  9. shower — to wash
  10. vault — a safe
  11. wound — an injury
  12. saw — past of 'see'
  13. toast — the most admired
  14. vault — an arched ceiling
  15. wound — past of 'wind'
  16. toast — a drink to someone
  17. toast — bread
  18. shower — a meteor shower
  19. squash — to crush
  20. vault — in gymnastics
  21. saw — the tool
  22. squash — the sport
  23. wound — an injury
  24. mine — for digging

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