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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 120 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: bulb · cue · shower · squash · chest · leaves · fall · vault

  1. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  2. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  3. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  4. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  5. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  6. I've got to change the light ________________.
  7. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  8. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  9. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  10. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  11. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  12. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  13. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  14. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  15. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  16. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  17. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  18. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  19. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  20. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  21. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  22. The light ________________ burned out.
  23. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  24. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — to crush
  2. leaves — lets stay
  3. cue — a signal
  4. leaves — to go away
  5. bulb — of a plant
  6. bulb — for light
  7. fall — to drop
  8. chest — a box
  9. fall — the season
  10. shower — a meteor shower
  11. shower — rain
  12. fall — to drop
  13. squash — the vegetable
  14. chest — of your body
  15. vault — a safe
  16. cue — for pool
  17. cue — a hint
  18. vault — in gymnastics
  19. shower — to wash
  20. squash — the sport
  21. leaves — of a tree
  22. bulb — for light
  23. chest — of your body
  24. vault — an arched ceiling

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