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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 · drill · temple · toast · tear · file · mate · race

  1. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  2. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  3. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  4. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  5. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  6. When was this ________________ built?
  7. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  8. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  9. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  10. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  11. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  12. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  13. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  14. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  15. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  16. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  17. Have you found your soul ________________?
  18. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  19. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  20. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  21. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  22. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  23. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  24. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. temple — side of the head
  2. race — a contest
  3. vault — a safe
  4. toast — the most admired
  5. race — the arms race
  6. temple — a place of worship
  7. mate — a friend
  8. toast — a drink to someone
  9. mate — to breed
  10. drill — army training
  11. tear — from crying
  12. tear — to rip
  13. drill — the tool
  14. race — humankind
  15. tear — from crying
  16. file — a line of people
  17. mate — a partner
  18. vault — in gymnastics
  19. vault — an arched ceiling
  20. drill — a practice
  21. toast — bread
  22. file — a document
  23. temple — a place of worship
  24. file — a tool

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