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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 116 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 in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  2. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  3. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  4. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  5. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  6. How do you ________________ your surname?
  7. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  8. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  9. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  10. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  11. That was ________________ to happen.
  12. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  13. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  14. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  15. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  16. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  17. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  18. When are we going to ________________?
  19. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  20. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  21. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  22. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  23. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  24. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.

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

Answer key

  1. spell — magic
  2. row — a quarrel
  3. land — a country
  4. file — a document
  5. vault — a safe
  6. spell — letters
  7. vault — in gymnastics
  8. vault — an arched ceiling
  9. land — ground
  10. bound — tied together
  11. bound — certain
  12. row — to paddle
  13. race — humankind
  14. pitch — a sales talk
  15. pitch — completely
  16. bound — obliged
  17. row — a line
  18. land — to come down
  19. race — the arms race
  20. file — a line of people
  21. file — a tool
  22. spell — a short time
  23. pitch — a sports field
  24. race — a contest

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