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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: straw · date · shower · chip · chest · last · pound · vault

  1. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  2. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  3. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  4. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  5. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  6. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  7. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  8. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  9. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  10. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  11. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  12. False peace will not ________________.
  13. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  14. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  15. Have you settled on a ________________?
  16. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  17. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  18. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  19. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  20. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  21. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  22. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  23. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  24. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.

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

Answer key

  1. date — the fruit
  2. vault — in gymnastics
  3. last — final
  4. chest — of your body
  5. shower — rain
  6. pound — for dogs
  7. straw — dry grass
  8. last — finally
  9. chip — in a computer
  10. shower — to wash
  11. chip — to eat
  12. last — to go on
  13. straw — to clutch at straws
  14. pound — a weight
  15. date — on the calendar
  16. chest — of your body
  17. chest — a box
  18. straw — a straw man
  19. shower — a meteor shower
  20. chip — for betting
  21. vault — an arched ceiling
  22. date — on the calendar
  23. vault — a safe
  24. pound — to hit hard

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