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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 120 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.

Words on the sheet
468
Word bank
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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. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  2. How do you ________________ your surname?
  3. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  4. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  5. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  6. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  7. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  8. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  9. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  10. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  11. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  12. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  13. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  14. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  15. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  16. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  17. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  18. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  19. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  20. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  21. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  22. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  23. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  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. spell — letters
  3. wound — an injury
  4. snap — to click
  5. wound — past of 'wind'
  6. vault — in gymnastics
  7. racket — a loud noise
  8. racket — for tennis
  9. race — the arms race
  10. spell — a short time
  11. can — a tin
  12. race — a contest
  13. wound — an injury
  14. snap — to speak sharply
  15. race — humankind
  16. wind — to turn a key
  17. snap — to snap out of it
  18. wind — moving air
  19. wind — moving air
  20. racket — for tennis
  21. can — a tin
  22. spell — magic
  23. can — to be able to
  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