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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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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: spell · face · vault · bulb · file · rush · degree · rule

  1. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  2. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  3. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  4. I've got to change the light ________________.
  5. How do you ________________ your surname?
  6. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  7. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  8. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  9. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  10. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  11. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  12. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  13. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  14. The light ________________ burned out.
  15. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  16. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  17. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  18. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  19. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  20. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  21. That must've been a ________________.
  22. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  23. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  24. She had a strange look on her ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. vault — a safe
  2. rush — hurry
  3. vault — an arched ceiling
  4. bulb — for light
  5. spell — letters
  6. bulb — of a plant
  7. rush — to hurry
  8. rule — a law
  9. degree — from a university
  10. face — to confront
  11. file — a tool
  12. spell — magic
  13. rule — to rule out
  14. bulb — for light
  15. degree — an amount
  16. spell — a short time
  17. degree — temperature
  18. face — to point toward
  19. vault — in gymnastics
  20. rule — government
  21. rush — a thrill
  22. file — a document
  23. file — a line of people
  24. face — part of the head

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