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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 · last · race · fine · vault · pitch · face · spring

  1. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  2. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  3. False peace will not ________________.
  4. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  5. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  6. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  7. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  8. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  9. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  10. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  11. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  12. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  13. How do you ________________ your surname?
  14. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  15. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  16. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  17. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  18. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  19. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  20. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  21. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  22. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  23. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  24. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.

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

Answer key

  1. pitch — a sales talk
  2. vault — in gymnastics
  3. last — to go on
  4. face — to confront
  5. vault — a safe
  6. fine — a penalty
  7. pitch — a sports field
  8. pitch — completely
  9. spring — a coil
  10. race — a contest
  11. race — the arms race
  12. last — finally
  13. spell — letters
  14. fine — all right
  15. face — to point toward
  16. spell — magic
  17. last — final
  18. spell — a short time
  19. spring — the season
  20. race — humankind
  21. vault — an arched ceiling
  22. spring — of water
  23. face — part of the head
  24. fine — high quality

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