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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: rock · fine · wake · land · shower · bulb · cold · vault

  1. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  2. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  3. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  4. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  5. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  6. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  7. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  8. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  9. The light ________________ burned out.
  10. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  11. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  12. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  13. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  14. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  15. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  16. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  17. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  18. When are we going to ________________?
  19. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  20. I've got to change the light ________________.
  21. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  22. The water is too ________________.
  23. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  24. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.

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

Answer key

  1. vault — in gymnastics
  2. cold — an illness
  3. rock — music
  4. fine — a penalty
  5. land — ground
  6. fine — high quality
  7. vault — an arched ceiling
  8. vault — a safe
  9. bulb — for light
  10. shower — a meteor shower
  11. wake — a trail
  12. shower — to wash
  13. cold — the Cold War
  14. rock — a stone
  15. bulb — of a plant
  16. shower — rain
  17. wake — before a funeral
  18. land — to come down
  19. rock — to move gently
  20. bulb — for light
  21. land — a country
  22. cold — not warm
  23. fine — all right
  24. wake — to stop sleeping

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