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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: shower · vault · coach · drill · season · pop · rule · chest

  1. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  2. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  3. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  4. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  5. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  6. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  7. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  8. We're almost out of ________________.
  9. You don't need to ________________ round.
  10. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  11. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  12. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  13. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  14. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  15. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  16. Have you met the new head ________________?
  17. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  18. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  19. Did you ________________ the meat?
  20. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  21. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  22. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  23. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  24. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.

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

Answer key

  1. vault — a safe
  2. chest — of your body
  3. rule — government
  4. chest — of your body
  5. chest — a box
  6. drill — a practice
  7. vault — in gymnastics
  8. pop — soda
  9. pop — to visit
  10. rule — to rule out
  11. shower — rain
  12. coach — a trainer
  13. rule — a law
  14. pop — music
  15. shower — a meteor shower
  16. coach — a trainer
  17. season — in sport
  18. drill — army training
  19. season — to add flavour
  20. vault — an arched ceiling
  21. shower — to wash
  22. coach — pulled by horses
  23. season — of the year
  24. drill — the tool

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