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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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Word bank
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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 · rush · safe · clip · pitcher · spell · track · swing

  1. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  2. David sat on the ________________.
  3. How do you ________________ your surname?
  4. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  5. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  6. That must've been a ________________.
  7. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  8. He is an ace ________________.
  9. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  10. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  11. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  12. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  13. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  14. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  15. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  16. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  17. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  18. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  19. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  20. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  21. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  22. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  23. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  24. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.

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

Answer key

  1. rush — hurry
  2. swing — to play on
  3. spell — letters
  4. track — a path
  5. safe — out of danger
  6. rush — a thrill
  7. vault — a safe
  8. pitcher — in baseball
  9. safe — a strongbox
  10. clip — to cut
  11. spell — a short time
  12. safe — out of danger
  13. track — a song
  14. clip — a video
  15. clip — for paper
  16. track — to keep track
  17. spell — magic
  18. swing — in golf
  19. vault — in gymnastics
  20. swing — music
  21. vault — an arched ceiling
  22. rush — to hurry
  23. pitcher — a jug
  24. pitcher — a jug

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