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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: current · vault · shower · swing · bore · cold · game · saw

  1. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  2. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  3. She's very handy with a ________________.
  4. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  5. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  6. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  7. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  8. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  9. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  10. That was a fun ________________.
  11. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  12. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  13. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  14. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  15. David sat on the ________________.
  16. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  17. The water is too ________________.
  18. He works in a ________________ mill.
  19. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  20. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  21. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  22. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  23. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  24. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.

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

Answer key

  1. current — electric
  2. bore — to tire
  3. saw — the tool
  4. bore — to drill
  5. current — of water
  6. shower — a meteor shower
  7. vault — in gymnastics
  8. game — a kind of play
  9. game — wild animals
  10. game — a match
  11. swing — in golf
  12. shower — rain
  13. vault — an arched ceiling
  14. cold — an illness
  15. swing — to play on
  16. bore — gave birth
  17. cold — not warm
  18. saw — the tool
  19. current — happening now
  20. shower — to wash
  21. swing — music
  22. saw — past of 'see'
  23. vault — a safe
  24. cold — the Cold War

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