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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: rest · vault · wound · last · race · capital

  1. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  2. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  3. False peace will not ________________.
  4. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  5. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  6. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  7. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  8. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  9. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  10. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  11. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  12. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  13. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  14. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  15. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  16. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  17. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  18. At ________________, we arrived at the village.

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

Answer key

  1. vault — a safe
  2. wound — an injury
  3. last — to go on
  4. rest — what's left
  5. race — humankind
  6. last — final
  7. race — a contest
  8. wound — past of 'wind'
  9. capital — a city
  10. vault — an arched ceiling
  11. rest — a break
  12. capital — money
  13. capital — a big letter
  14. vault — in gymnastics
  15. wound — an injury
  16. race — the arms race
  17. rest — what's left
  18. last — finally

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