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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: club · rule · chest · vault · pop · rush · tube · hand

  1. We're almost out of ________________.
  2. That must've been a ________________.
  3. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  4. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  5. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  6. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  7. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  8. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  9. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  10. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  11. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  12. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  13. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  14. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  15. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  16. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  17. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  18. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  19. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  20. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  21. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  22. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  23. I'll be taking the ________________.
  24. You don't need to ________________ round.

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

Answer key

  1. pop — soda
  2. rush — a thrill
  3. pop — music
  4. rule — government
  5. tube — a container
  6. chest — of your body
  7. vault — an arched ceiling
  8. rule — to rule out
  9. vault — in gymnastics
  10. rule — a law
  11. vault — a safe
  12. hand — part of the body
  13. chest — a box
  14. club — for golf
  15. hand — in cards
  16. chest — of your body
  17. club — for dancing
  18. rush — to hurry
  19. rush — hurry
  20. tube — in a tire
  21. club — a group
  22. hand — help
  23. tube — the underground
  24. pop — to visit

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