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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: race · hand · staff · shower · jam · kid · rule · vault

  1. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  2. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  3. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  4. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  5. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  6. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  7. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  8. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  9. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  10. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  11. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  12. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  13. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  14. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  15. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  16. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  17. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  18. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  19. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  20. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  21. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  22. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  23. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  24. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — a meteor shower
  2. staff — employees
  3. vault — an arched ceiling
  4. kid — child
  5. hand — help
  6. rule — to rule out
  7. race — the arms race
  8. rule — government
  9. jam — a tight spot
  10. race — a contest
  11. staff — a stick
  12. vault — a safe
  13. hand — in cards
  14. jam — to spread on bread
  15. kid — to tease
  16. race — humankind
  17. shower — rain
  18. rule — a law
  19. shower — to wash
  20. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  21. hand — part of the body
  22. staff — employees
  23. vault — in gymnastics
  24. jam — in traffic

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