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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: pit · band · land · rule · root · spell · chest · vault

  1. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  2. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  3. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  4. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  5. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  6. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  7. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  8. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  9. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  10. How do you ________________ your surname?
  11. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  12. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  13. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  14. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  15. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  16. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  17. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  18. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  19. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  20. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  21. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  22. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  23. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  24. When are we going to ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. rule — government
  2. pit — a hole
  3. chest — of your body
  4. pit — in a race
  5. rule — a law
  6. pit — a fruit stone
  7. chest — a box
  8. chest — of your body
  9. root — the cause
  10. spell — letters
  11. vault — an arched ceiling
  12. root — of a plant
  13. rule — to rule out
  14. land — a country
  15. root — of a word
  16. band — a music group
  17. spell — a short time
  18. band — a rubber band
  19. vault — a safe
  20. land — ground
  21. band — a ring
  22. vault — in gymnastics
  23. spell — magic
  24. land — to come down

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