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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: race · staff · kick · clip · rule · land · vault · shower

  1. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  2. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  3. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  4. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  5. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  6. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  7. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  8. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  9. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  10. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  11. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  12. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  13. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  14. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  15. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  16. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  17. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  18. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  19. When are we going to ________________?
  20. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  21. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  22. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  23. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  24. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. race — the arms race
  2. shower — to wash
  3. shower — rain
  4. vault — a safe
  5. staff — a stick
  6. vault — in gymnastics
  7. vault — an arched ceiling
  8. clip — to cut
  9. race — a contest
  10. staff — employees
  11. kick — in football
  12. clip — for paper
  13. rule — to rule out
  14. kick — a thrill
  15. land — a country
  16. race — humankind
  17. land — ground
  18. rule — a law
  19. land — to come down
  20. staff — employees
  21. kick — with a leg
  22. shower — a meteor shower
  23. rule — government
  24. clip — a video

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