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

Word bank: vault · press · snap · nail · capital · cold

  1. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  2. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  3. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  4. The water is too ________________.
  5. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  6. The ________________ went through the wall.
  7. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  8. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  9. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  10. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  11. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  12. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  13. Did you ________________ the button?
  14. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  15. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  16. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  17. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  18. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to snap out of it
  2. vault — a safe
  3. press — newspapers
  4. cold — not warm
  5. capital — a big letter
  6. nail — for a hammer
  7. cold — an illness
  8. nail — for a hammer
  9. vault — in gymnastics
  10. nail — on a finger
  11. capital — a city
  12. press — a publisher
  13. press — to push
  14. cold — the Cold War
  15. capital — money
  16. snap — to click
  17. vault — an arched ceiling
  18. snap — to speak sharply

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