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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 116 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: wake · bass · pitcher · fall · spring · vault · board · shower

  1. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  2. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  3. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  4. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  5. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  6. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  7. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  8. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  9. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  10. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  11. He is an ace ________________.
  12. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  13. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  14. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  15. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  16. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  17. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  18. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  19. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  20. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  21. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  22. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  23. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  24. ________________ games are popular in Germany.

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

Answer key

  1. fall — to drop
  2. fall — to drop
  3. bass — the fish
  4. vault — an arched ceiling
  5. wake — a trail
  6. spring — of water
  7. vault — a safe
  8. shower — to wash
  9. spring — a coil
  10. pitcher — a jug
  11. pitcher — in baseball
  12. pitcher — a jug
  13. bass — low music
  14. vault — in gymnastics
  15. bass — the instrument
  16. spring — the season
  17. wake — to stop sleeping
  18. board — to get on
  19. fall — the season
  20. board — a committee
  21. shower — a meteor shower
  22. shower — rain
  23. wake — before a funeral
  24. board — a flat piece

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