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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: racket · last · vault · arm · spell · chest

  1. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  2. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  3. My father caught me by the ________________.
  4. False peace will not ________________.
  5. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  6. How do you ________________ your surname?
  7. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  8. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  9. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  10. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  11. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  12. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  13. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  14. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  15. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  16. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  17. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  18. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — of your body
  2. last — final
  3. arm — part of the body
  4. last — to go on
  5. racket — for tennis
  6. spell — letters
  7. arm — a part of something
  8. arm — part of the body
  9. vault — an arched ceiling
  10. racket — for tennis
  11. spell — a short time
  12. racket — a loud noise
  13. last — finally
  14. spell — magic
  15. chest — a box
  16. vault — a safe
  17. vault — in gymnastics
  18. chest — of your body

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