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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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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: shower · vault · wave · swing · cold · stick · bay · roll

  1. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  2. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  3. The water is too ________________.
  4. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  5. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  6. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  7. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  8. We're on a ________________ here.
  9. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  10. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  11. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  12. My mare is ________________ in color.
  13. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  14. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  15. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  16. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  17. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  18. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  19. David sat on the ________________.
  20. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  21. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  22. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  23. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  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. wave — with your hand
  2. vault — a safe
  3. cold — not warm
  4. wave — a sudden rise
  5. vault — an arched ceiling
  6. bay — a part of the sea
  7. bay — to keep at bay
  8. roll — on a roll
  9. roll — a cake
  10. roll — a list
  11. swing — music
  12. bay — a horse colour
  13. shower — rain
  14. wave — of the sea
  15. shower — a meteor shower
  16. cold — an illness
  17. stick — a piece of wood
  18. vault — in gymnastics
  19. swing — to play on
  20. stick — to attach or keep to
  21. stick — a piece of wood
  22. shower — to wash
  23. swing — in golf
  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