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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: trunk · pound · shower · pitch · cap · rest · kid · vault

  1. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  2. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  3. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  4. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  5. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  6. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  7. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  8. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  9. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  10. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  11. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  12. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  13. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  14. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  15. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  16. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  17. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  18. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  19. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  20. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  21. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  22. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  23. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  24. The elephant has a huge ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. vault — in gymnastics
  2. cap — a hat
  3. cap — a lid
  4. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  5. shower — to wash
  6. kid — child
  7. cap — of ice
  8. pitch — completely
  9. shower — a meteor shower
  10. pound — to hit hard
  11. kid — to tease
  12. trunk — of a tree
  13. pitch — a sales talk
  14. pound — a weight
  15. rest — a break
  16. rest — what's left
  17. pitch — a sports field
  18. pound — for dogs
  19. rest — what's left
  20. trunk — of a car
  21. vault — a safe
  22. vault — an arched ceiling
  23. shower — rain
  24. trunk — of an elephant

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