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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: file · wound · toast · spell · vault · pitcher · key · race

  1. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  2. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  3. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  4. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  5. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  6. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  7. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  8. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  9. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  10. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  11. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  12. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  13. He is an ace ________________.
  14. This piece is in a major ________________.
  15. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  16. How do you ________________ your surname?
  17. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  18. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  19. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  20. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  21. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  22. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  23. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  24. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.

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

Answer key

  1. toast — the most admired
  2. key — the most important part
  3. race — the arms race
  4. wound — an injury
  5. vault — an arched ceiling
  6. toast — a drink to someone
  7. race — a contest
  8. pitcher — a jug
  9. wound — past of 'wind'
  10. file — a tool
  11. toast — bread
  12. vault — in gymnastics
  13. pitcher — in baseball
  14. key — in music
  15. pitcher — a jug
  16. spell — letters
  17. key — for a lock
  18. wound — an injury
  19. race — humankind
  20. file — a line of people
  21. spell — magic
  22. spell — a short time
  23. vault — a safe
  24. file — a document

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