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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. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  2. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  3. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  4. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  5. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  6. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  7. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  8. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  9. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  10. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  11. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  12. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  13. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  14. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  15. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  16. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  17. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  18. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  19. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  20. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  21. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  22. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  23. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  24. What was your ________________ profit last year?

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

Answer key

  1. vault — a safe
  2. snap — to speak sharply
  3. shower — rain
  4. vault — in gymnastics
  5. snap — to snap out of it
  6. capital — money
  7. shower — to wash
  8. net — in sport
  9. firm — decided
  10. shower — a meteor shower
  11. firm — steady
  12. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  13. capital — a big letter
  14. snap — to click
  15. firm — a company
  16. bark — to shout
  17. bark — a dog's sound
  18. kid — child
  19. bark — of a tree
  20. capital — a city
  21. kid — to tease
  22. net — for catching
  23. vault — an arched ceiling
  24. net — after costs

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