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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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468
Word bank
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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 · game · hand · vault · tube · pit · cabinet · race

  1. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  2. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  3. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  4. That was a fun ________________.
  5. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  6. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  7. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  8. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  9. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  10. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  11. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  12. What do you think of the new ________________?
  13. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  14. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  15. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  16. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  17. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  18. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  19. I'll be taking the ________________.
  20. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  21. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  22. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  23. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  24. I got dealt a bad ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pit — a hole
  2. hand — help
  3. game — wild animals
  4. game — a match
  5. vault — in gymnastics
  6. tube — in a tire
  7. pit — a fruit stone
  8. cabinet — a cupboard
  9. vault — a safe
  10. game — a kind of play
  11. shower — rain
  12. cabinet — ministers
  13. cabinet — ministers
  14. tube — a container
  15. shower — to wash
  16. race — a contest
  17. hand — part of the body
  18. pit — in a race
  19. tube — the underground
  20. vault — an arched ceiling
  21. race — the arms race
  22. race — humankind
  23. shower — a meteor shower
  24. hand — in cards

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