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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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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 · rule · rash · root · craft · court · vault · date

  1. The ball is in your ________________.
  2. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  3. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  4. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  5. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  6. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  7. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  8. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  9. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  10. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  11. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  12. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  13. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  14. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  15. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  16. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  17. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  18. Have you settled on a ________________?
  19. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  20. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  21. Don't do anything ________________.
  22. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  23. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  24. We took cover from the thunder ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. court — for sport
  2. craft — boats
  3. date — the fruit
  4. root — of a word
  5. root — of a plant
  6. craft — a skill
  7. vault — in gymnastics
  8. craft — a handicraft
  9. rule — government
  10. date — on the calendar
  11. vault — an arched ceiling
  12. rash — a series
  13. court — of law
  14. shower — a meteor shower
  15. rule — a law
  16. root — the cause
  17. court — of a king
  18. date — on the calendar
  19. vault — a safe
  20. shower — to wash
  21. rash — hasty
  22. rule — to rule out
  23. rash — on the skin
  24. shower — rain

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