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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: pound · roll · bass · drill · shower · present · lash · vault

  1. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  2. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  3. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  4. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  5. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  6. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  7. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  8. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  9. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  10. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  11. We're on a ________________ here.
  12. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  13. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  14. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  15. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  16. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  17. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  18. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  19. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  20. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  21. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  22. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  23. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  24. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.

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

Answer key

  1. present — a gift
  2. vault — an arched ceiling
  3. roll — a cake
  4. vault — a safe
  5. drill — a practice
  6. lash — a whip stroke
  7. shower — a meteor shower
  8. present — there
  9. shower — to wash
  10. pound — a weight
  11. roll — on a roll
  12. bass — the fish
  13. vault — in gymnastics
  14. bass — the instrument
  15. pound — to hit hard
  16. lash — to lash out
  17. bass — low music
  18. roll — a list
  19. present — the time now
  20. shower — rain
  21. lash — an eyelash
  22. pound — for dogs
  23. drill — army training
  24. drill — the tool

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