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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: file · chair · vault · snap · march · stick

  1. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  2. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  3. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  4. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  5. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  6. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  7. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  8. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  9. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  10. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  11. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  12. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  13. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  14. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  15. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  16. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  17. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  18. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.

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. stick — a piece of wood
  3. chair — a professorship
  4. stick — a piece of wood
  5. vault — a safe
  6. file — a line of people
  7. chair — a leader
  8. march — music
  9. vault — an arched ceiling
  10. stick — to attach or keep to
  11. vault — in gymnastics
  12. march — the month
  13. file — a tool
  14. file — a document
  15. snap — to click
  16. snap — to speak sharply
  17. march — the month
  18. chair — to sit on

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