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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: vault · shower · swing · court · rule · mark · bear · tube

  1. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  2. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  3. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  4. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  5. I'll be taking the ________________.
  6. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  7. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  8. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  9. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  10. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  11. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  12. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  13. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  14. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  15. The ball is in your ________________.
  16. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  17. David sat on the ________________.
  18. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  19. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  20. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  21. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  22. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  23. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  24. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.

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

Answer key

  1. mark — to pay attention
  2. court — of law
  3. bear — the animal
  4. rule — a law
  5. tube — the underground
  6. court — of a king
  7. bear — to put up with
  8. tube — in a tire
  9. bear — the animal
  10. shower — rain
  11. shower — a meteor shower
  12. swing — music
  13. vault — an arched ceiling
  14. rule — to rule out
  15. court — for sport
  16. vault — a safe
  17. swing — to play on
  18. rule — government
  19. mark — a trace
  20. mark — a grade
  21. shower — to wash
  22. swing — in golf
  23. tube — a container
  24. vault — in gymnastics

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