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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: branch · vault · race · spell · bay · wound · last · mine

  1. How do you ________________ your surname?
  2. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  3. False peace will not ________________.
  4. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  5. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  6. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  7. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  8. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  9. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  10. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  11. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  12. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  13. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  14. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  15. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  16. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  17. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  18. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  19. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  20. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  21. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  22. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  23. My mare is ________________ in color.
  24. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!

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

Answer key

  1. spell — letters
  2. last — finally
  3. last — to go on
  4. race — the arms race
  5. bay — a part of the sea
  6. mine — for digging
  7. mine — an explosive
  8. race — humankind
  9. wound — an injury
  10. wound — an injury
  11. vault — an arched ceiling
  12. vault — a safe
  13. race — a contest
  14. spell — magic
  15. branch — a division
  16. branch — of a bank
  17. mine — belonging to me
  18. wound — past of 'wind'
  19. branch — of a tree
  20. bay — to keep at bay
  21. spell — a short time
  22. vault — in gymnastics
  23. bay — a horse colour
  24. last — final

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