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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: vault · track · race · clip · spell · trunk · toast · suit

  1. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  2. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  3. How do you ________________ your surname?
  4. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  5. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  6. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  7. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  8. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  9. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  10. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  11. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  12. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  13. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  14. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  15. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  16. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  17. When will it ________________ you to start?
  18. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  19. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  20. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  21. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  22. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  23. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  24. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.

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

Answer key

  1. track — a path
  2. track — to keep track
  3. spell — letters
  4. vault — an arched ceiling
  5. toast — bread
  6. spell — a short time
  7. race — the arms race
  8. track — a song
  9. suit — in cards
  10. toast — a drink to someone
  11. trunk — of an elephant
  12. race — a contest
  13. spell — magic
  14. trunk — of a car
  15. clip — to cut
  16. clip — for paper
  17. suit — to fit
  18. vault — a safe
  19. vault — in gymnastics
  20. race — humankind
  21. suit — clothes
  22. clip — a video
  23. toast — the most admired
  24. trunk — of a tree

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