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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: mine · rule · game · spell · vault · wax · pitcher · row

  1. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  2. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  3. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  4. How do you ________________ your surname?
  5. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  6. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  7. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  8. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  9. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  10. That was a fun ________________.
  11. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  12. He is an ace ________________.
  13. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  14. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  15. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  16. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  17. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  18. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  19. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  20. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  21. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  22. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  23. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  24. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.

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

Answer key

  1. spell — magic
  2. rule — a law
  3. game — a kind of play
  4. spell — letters
  5. pitcher — a jug
  6. row — a quarrel
  7. spell — a short time
  8. vault — a safe
  9. mine — an explosive
  10. game — a match
  11. pitcher — a jug
  12. pitcher — in baseball
  13. mine — belonging to me
  14. vault — an arched ceiling
  15. row — to paddle
  16. wax — for sculpting
  17. rule — to rule out
  18. rule — government
  19. mine — for digging
  20. wax — in the ear
  21. wax — to grow
  22. vault — in gymnastics
  23. game — wild animals
  24. row — a line

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