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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: spell · vault · track · wake · capital · file · wind · rock

  1. How do you ________________ your surname?
  2. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  3. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  4. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  5. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  6. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  7. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  8. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  9. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  10. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  11. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  12. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  13. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  14. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  15. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  16. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  17. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  18. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  19. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  20. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  21. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  22. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  23. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  24. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.

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

Answer key

  1. spell — letters
  2. wake — before a funeral
  3. capital — a city
  4. rock — to move gently
  5. vault — in gymnastics
  6. file — a document
  7. capital — a big letter
  8. wake — a trail
  9. track — a path
  10. spell — a short time
  11. wake — to stop sleeping
  12. spell — magic
  13. file — a line of people
  14. rock — music
  15. wind — to turn a key
  16. rock — a stone
  17. capital — money
  18. wind — moving air
  19. track — to keep track
  20. wind — moving air
  21. track — a song
  22. file — a tool
  23. vault — a safe
  24. vault — an arched ceiling

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