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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 · shower · ground · branch · face · sharp · kick · game

  1. It's one o'clock ________________.
  2. That was a fun ________________.
  3. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  4. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  5. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  6. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  7. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  8. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  9. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  10. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  11. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  12. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  13. There's no middle ________________.
  14. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  15. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  16. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  17. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  18. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  19. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  20. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  21. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  22. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  23. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  24. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — exactly
  2. game — a match
  3. sharp — with an edge
  4. vault — a safe
  5. branch — a division
  6. vault — in gymnastics
  7. face — part of the head
  8. ground — crushed
  9. shower — to wash
  10. branch — of a bank
  11. kick — in football
  12. kick — with a leg
  13. ground — a position
  14. game — a kind of play
  15. shower — rain
  16. shower — a meteor shower
  17. ground — the earth
  18. face — to confront
  19. kick — a thrill
  20. game — wild animals
  21. branch — of a tree
  22. vault — an arched ceiling
  23. sharp — clever
  24. face — to point toward

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