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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: rule · pound · shower · vault · scale · cell · present · court

  1. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  2. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  3. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  4. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  5. He was locked up in a ________________.
  6. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  7. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  8. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  9. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  10. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  11. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  12. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  13. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  14. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  15. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  16. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  17. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  18. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  19. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  20. The ball is in your ________________.
  21. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  22. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  23. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  24. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?

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

Answer key

  1. rule — to rule out
  2. rule — a law
  3. cell — a phone
  4. shower — rain
  5. cell — in a prison
  6. vault — a safe
  7. rule — government
  8. pound — a weight
  9. cell — in biology
  10. court — of a king
  11. scale — size or range
  12. shower — to wash
  13. scale — for weighing
  14. shower — a meteor shower
  15. pound — to hit hard
  16. present — there
  17. scale — in music
  18. court — of law
  19. vault — in gymnastics
  20. court — for sport
  21. pound — for dogs
  22. present — the time now
  23. vault — an arched ceiling
  24. present — a gift

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