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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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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: vault · spring · court · saw · cabinet · shower · bear · straw

  1. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  2. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  3. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  4. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  5. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  6. She's very handy with a ________________.
  7. He works in a ________________ mill.
  8. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  9. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  10. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  11. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  12. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  13. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  14. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  15. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  16. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  17. What do you think of the new ________________?
  18. The ball is in your ________________.
  19. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  20. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  21. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  22. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  23. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  24. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.

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

Answer key

  1. bear — the animal
  2. shower — to wash
  3. vault — an arched ceiling
  4. shower — rain
  5. straw — dry grass
  6. saw — the tool
  7. saw — the tool
  8. court — of a king
  9. spring — a coil
  10. spring — the season
  11. bear — the animal
  12. shower — a meteor shower
  13. spring — of water
  14. straw — to clutch at straws
  15. bear — to put up with
  16. saw — past of 'see'
  17. cabinet — ministers
  18. court — for sport
  19. vault — a safe
  20. cabinet — ministers
  21. vault — in gymnastics
  22. straw — a straw man
  23. cabinet — a cupboard
  24. court — of law

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