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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: shower · tube · craft · court · race · cue · vault · net

  1. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  2. I'll be taking the ________________.
  3. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  4. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  5. The ball is in your ________________.
  6. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  7. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  8. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  9. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  10. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  11. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  12. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  13. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  14. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  15. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  16. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  17. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  18. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  19. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  20. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  21. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  22. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  23. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  24. He's taking a ________________ right now.

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

Answer key

  1. race — humankind
  2. tube — the underground
  3. craft — a skill
  4. shower — a meteor shower
  5. court — for sport
  6. net — for catching
  7. craft — boats
  8. cue — for pool
  9. tube — a container
  10. court — of law
  11. race — the arms race
  12. vault — an arched ceiling
  13. craft — a handicraft
  14. cue — a hint
  15. shower — rain
  16. cue — a signal
  17. vault — in gymnastics
  18. net — after costs
  19. vault — a safe
  20. net — in sport
  21. tube — in a tire
  22. court — of a king
  23. race — a contest
  24. shower — to wash

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