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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: vault · mate · chest · shower · deal · safe · band · squash

  1. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  2. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  3. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  4. Have you found your soul ________________?
  5. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  6. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  7. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  8. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  9. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  10. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  11. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  12. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  13. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  14. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  15. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  16. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  17. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  18. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  19. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  20. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  21. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  22. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  23. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  24. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — to breed
  2. shower — to wash
  3. squash — to crush
  4. mate — a partner
  5. chest — a box
  6. safe — a strongbox
  7. band — a music group
  8. band — a rubber band
  9. safe — out of danger
  10. vault — a safe
  11. squash — the vegetable
  12. squash — the sport
  13. shower — a meteor shower
  14. chest — of your body
  15. vault — in gymnastics
  16. mate — a friend
  17. safe — out of danger
  18. deal — a big deal
  19. vault — an arched ceiling
  20. band — a ring
  21. shower — rain
  22. chest — of your body
  23. deal — to handle
  24. deal — an agreement

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