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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: last · vault · snap · press · object · clip

  1. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  2. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  3. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  4. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  5. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  6. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  7. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  8. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  9. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  10. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  11. Did you ________________ the button?
  12. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  13. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  14. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  15. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  16. False peace will not ________________.
  17. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  18. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.

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

Answer key

  1. object — to protest
  2. vault — a safe
  3. last — final
  4. snap — to snap out of it
  5. vault — an arched ceiling
  6. snap — to speak sharply
  7. press — newspapers
  8. clip — for paper
  9. last — finally
  10. object — a thing
  11. press — to push
  12. object — an aim
  13. vault — in gymnastics
  14. clip — a video
  15. press — a publisher
  16. last — to go on
  17. clip — to cut
  18. snap — to click

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