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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 · cell · race · club · jam · vault · clip · fork

  1. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  2. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  3. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  4. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  5. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  6. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  7. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  8. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  9. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  10. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  11. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  12. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  13. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  14. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  15. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  16. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  17. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  18. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  19. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  20. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  21. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  22. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  23. He was locked up in a ________________.
  24. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fork — in a road
  2. club — a group
  3. jam — a tight spot
  4. club — for dancing
  5. race — the arms race
  6. shower — to wash
  7. jam — in traffic
  8. shower — rain
  9. jam — to spread on bread
  10. fork — a garden tool
  11. clip — a video
  12. club — for golf
  13. clip — to cut
  14. cell — a phone
  15. fork — to eat with
  16. clip — for paper
  17. cell — in biology
  18. race — a contest
  19. vault — in gymnastics
  20. vault — a safe
  21. shower — a meteor shower
  22. vault — an arched ceiling
  23. cell — in a prison
  24. race — humankind

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