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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: race · pitcher · cell · snap · vault · dip · spell · rule

  1. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  2. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  3. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  4. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  5. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  6. He is an ace ________________.
  7. How do you ________________ your surname?
  8. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  9. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  10. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  11. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  12. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  13. He was locked up in a ________________.
  14. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  15. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  16. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  17. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  18. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  19. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  20. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  21. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  22. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  23. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  24. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.

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

Answer key

  1. race — a contest
  2. dip — to sink
  3. spell — a short time
  4. cell — a phone
  5. rule — to rule out
  6. pitcher — in baseball
  7. spell — letters
  8. race — the arms race
  9. vault — an arched ceiling
  10. snap — to speak sharply
  11. vault — a safe
  12. cell — in biology
  13. cell — in a prison
  14. vault — in gymnastics
  15. spell — magic
  16. dip — to dunk
  17. race — humankind
  18. pitcher — a jug
  19. snap — to snap out of it
  20. snap — to click
  21. pitcher — a jug
  22. rule — government
  23. rule — a law
  24. dip — a sauce

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