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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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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: charge · rest · spell · bat · last · march · vault · chest

  1. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  2. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  3. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  4. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  5. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  6. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  7. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  8. The tickets are free of ________________.
  9. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  10. How do you ________________ your surname?
  11. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  12. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  13. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  14. False peace will not ________________.
  15. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  16. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  17. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  18. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  19. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  20. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  21. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  22. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  23. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  24. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.

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

Answer key

  1. vault — an arched ceiling
  2. vault — a safe
  3. charge — electricity
  4. rest — a break
  5. bat — the animal
  6. chest — a box
  7. rest — what's left
  8. charge — a price
  9. vault — in gymnastics
  10. spell — letters
  11. last — finally
  12. spell — magic
  13. last — final
  14. last — to go on
  15. bat — in an idiom
  16. charge — in control
  17. bat — for baseball
  18. chest — of your body
  19. march — music
  20. rest — what's left
  21. chest — of your body
  22. march — the month
  23. march — the month
  24. spell — a short time

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