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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 116 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 in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  2. The ________________ market has crashed.
  3. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  4. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  5. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  6. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  7. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  8. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  9. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  10. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  11. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  12. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  13. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  14. That was ________________ to happen.
  15. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  16. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  17. I'll be taking the ________________.
  18. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  19. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  20. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  21. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  22. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  23. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  24. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to click
  2. stock — shares
  3. hand — part of the body
  4. pitch — completely
  5. snap — to snap out of it
  6. vault — an arched ceiling
  7. bowl — a dish
  8. vault — a safe
  9. bowl — to roll
  10. stock — a soup base
  11. bound — obliged
  12. stock — goods
  13. bound — tied together
  14. bound — certain
  15. hand — in cards
  16. tube — in a tire
  17. tube — the underground
  18. pitch — a sales talk
  19. tube — a container
  20. hand — help
  21. bowl — a football final
  22. pitch — a sports field
  23. snap — to speak sharply
  24. vault — in gymnastics

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