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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: chip · shower · plane · vault · row · hand · fan · pitch

  1. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  2. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  3. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  4. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  5. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  6. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  7. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  8. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  9. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  10. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  11. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  12. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  13. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  14. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  15. The ________________ took off on time.
  16. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  17. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  18. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  19. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  20. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  21. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  22. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  23. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  24. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pitch — a sales talk
  2. row — a line
  3. chip — to eat
  4. shower — to wash
  5. vault — a safe
  6. shower — rain
  7. fan — to cool the air
  8. row — to paddle
  9. fan — a supporter
  10. row — a quarrel
  11. vault — in gymnastics
  12. fan — a supporter
  13. hand — help
  14. plane — a tool
  15. plane — an aircraft
  16. vault — an arched ceiling
  17. chip — for betting
  18. plane — in geometry
  19. hand — part of the body
  20. hand — in cards
  21. chip — in a computer
  22. pitch — a sports field
  23. pitch — completely
  24. shower — a meteor shower

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