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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: board · stem · chest · vault · bat · snap · spell · net

  1. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  2. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  3. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  4. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  5. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  6. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  7. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  8. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  9. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  10. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  11. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  12. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  13. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  14. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  15. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  16. How do you ________________ your surname?
  17. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  18. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  19. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  20. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  21. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  22. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  23. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  24. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.

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

Answer key

  1. board — a committee
  2. snap — to speak sharply
  3. stem — of a plant
  4. chest — a box
  5. net — after costs
  6. vault — a safe
  7. board — a flat piece
  8. board — to get on
  9. snap — to snap out of it
  10. stem — a stem cell
  11. snap — to click
  12. chest — of your body
  13. spell — a short time
  14. vault — in gymnastics
  15. net — in sport
  16. spell — letters
  17. bat — the animal
  18. spell — magic
  19. net — for catching
  20. vault — an arched ceiling
  21. chest — of your body
  22. bat — in an idiom
  23. stem — to come from
  24. bat — for baseball

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