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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 · safe · last · race · file · content · ground

  1. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  2. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  3. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  4. There's no middle ________________.
  5. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  6. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  7. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  8. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  9. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  10. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  11. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  12. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  13. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  14. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  15. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  16. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  17. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  18. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  19. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  20. False peace will not ________________.
  21. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  22. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  23. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  24. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.

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

Answer key

  1. safe — out of danger
  2. rest — what's left
  3. race — the arms race
  4. ground — a position
  5. rest — a break
  6. file — a line of people
  7. safe — out of danger
  8. safe — a strongbox
  9. last — finally
  10. ground — the earth
  11. last — final
  12. file — a tool
  13. ground — crushed
  14. content — happy
  15. race — humankind
  16. content — videos and posts
  17. file — a document
  18. content — the amount
  19. race — a contest
  20. last — to go on
  21. vault — an arched ceiling
  22. vault — a safe
  23. rest — what's left
  24. vault — in gymnastics

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