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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.

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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. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  3. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  4. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  5. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  6. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  7. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  8. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  9. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  10. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  11. That must've been a ________________.
  12. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  13. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  14. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  15. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  16. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  17. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  18. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  19. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  20. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  21. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  22. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  23. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  24. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to click
  2. vault — in gymnastics
  3. snap — to speak sharply
  4. band — a ring
  5. vault — a safe
  6. band — a music group
  7. cap — a hat
  8. shower — to wash
  9. band — a rubber band
  10. wake — a trail
  11. rush — a thrill
  12. shower — a meteor shower
  13. chair — a professorship
  14. rush — hurry
  15. cap — of ice
  16. wake — before a funeral
  17. cap — a lid
  18. shower — rain
  19. chair — to sit on
  20. snap — to snap out of it
  21. chair — a leader
  22. vault — an arched ceiling
  23. rush — to hurry
  24. wake — to stop sleeping

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