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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 120 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: rule · stick · shower · vault · lash · capital · march · tube

  1. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  2. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  3. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  4. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  5. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  6. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  7. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  8. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  9. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  10. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  11. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  12. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  13. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  14. I'll be taking the ________________.
  15. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  16. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  17. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  18. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  19. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  20. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  21. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  22. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  23. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  24. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. lash — to lash out
  2. march — the month
  3. capital — a city
  4. shower — to wash
  5. shower — rain
  6. tube — in a tire
  7. tube — a container
  8. march — music
  9. vault — in gymnastics
  10. march — the month
  11. vault — a safe
  12. stick — a piece of wood
  13. capital — a big letter
  14. tube — the underground
  15. capital — money
  16. lash — an eyelash
  17. rule — government
  18. stick — to attach or keep to
  19. stick — a piece of wood
  20. rule — to rule out
  21. lash — a whip stroke
  22. vault — an arched ceiling
  23. rule — a law
  24. shower — a meteor shower

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