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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: court · shower · race · vault · cap · charge · face · bark

  1. The ball is in your ________________.
  2. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  3. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  4. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  5. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  6. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  7. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  8. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  9. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  10. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  11. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  12. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  13. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  14. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  15. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  16. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  17. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  18. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  19. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  20. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  21. The tickets are free of ________________.
  22. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  23. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  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. court — for sport
  2. bark — a dog's sound
  3. court — of law
  4. race — a contest
  5. charge — in control
  6. court — of a king
  7. cap — a hat
  8. race — the arms race
  9. face — to point toward
  10. face — to confront
  11. race — humankind
  12. charge — electricity
  13. shower — to wash
  14. vault — an arched ceiling
  15. shower — rain
  16. cap — a lid
  17. shower — a meteor shower
  18. vault — a safe
  19. bark — to shout
  20. bark — of a tree
  21. charge — a price
  22. cap — of ice
  23. face — part of the head
  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