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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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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: craft · cold · swing · shower · ground · club · vault · fork

  1. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  2. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  3. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  4. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  5. There's no middle ________________.
  6. David sat on the ________________.
  7. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  8. The water is too ________________.
  9. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  10. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  11. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  12. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  13. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  14. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  15. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  16. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  17. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  18. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  19. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  20. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  21. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  22. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  23. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  24. We took cover from the thunder ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — the Cold War
  2. cold — an illness
  3. swing — music
  4. ground — the earth
  5. ground — a position
  6. swing — to play on
  7. vault — a safe
  8. cold — not warm
  9. vault — an arched ceiling
  10. shower — a meteor shower
  11. shower — to wash
  12. craft — boats
  13. swing — in golf
  14. fork — a garden tool
  15. club — for golf
  16. club — for dancing
  17. vault — in gymnastics
  18. craft — a skill
  19. ground — crushed
  20. fork — to eat with
  21. fork — in a road
  22. club — a group
  23. craft — a handicraft
  24. shower — rain

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