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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 · last · tube · race · pitcher · file · deal · fork

  1. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  2. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  3. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  4. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  5. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  6. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  7. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  8. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  9. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  10. He is an ace ________________.
  11. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  12. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  13. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  14. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  15. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  16. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  17. I'll be taking the ________________.
  18. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  19. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  20. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  21. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  22. False peace will not ________________.
  23. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  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. vault — a safe
  2. last — final
  3. file — a document
  4. tube — a container
  5. race — a contest
  6. deal — an agreement
  7. tube — in a tire
  8. race — the arms race
  9. race — humankind
  10. pitcher — in baseball
  11. deal — to handle
  12. pitcher — a jug
  13. file — a line of people
  14. deal — a big deal
  15. fork — in a road
  16. vault — in gymnastics
  17. tube — the underground
  18. last — finally
  19. file — a tool
  20. fork — a garden tool
  21. fork — to eat with
  22. last — to go on
  23. pitcher — a jug
  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