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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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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. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  4. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  5. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  6. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  7. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  8. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  9. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  10. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  11. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  12. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  13. The water is too ________________.
  14. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  15. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  16. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  17. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  18. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  19. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  20. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  21. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  22. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  23. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  24. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.

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. firm — a company
  4. vault — a safe
  5. cap — a hat
  6. snap — to speak sharply
  7. firm — decided
  8. fan — to cool the air
  9. bass — the instrument
  10. field — a subject
  11. cap — of ice
  12. bass — low music
  13. cold — not warm
  14. cold — the Cold War
  15. cap — a lid
  16. field — farmland
  17. snap — to snap out of it
  18. field — for sport
  19. bass — the fish
  20. fan — a supporter
  21. cold — an illness
  22. fan — a supporter
  23. vault — an arched ceiling
  24. firm — steady

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