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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 116 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: cap · fan · scale · tear · snap · stem · club · vault

  1. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  2. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  3. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  4. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  5. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  6. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  7. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  8. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  9. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  10. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  11. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  12. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  13. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  14. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  15. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  16. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  17. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  18. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  19. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  20. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  21. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  22. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  23. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  24. 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 click
  2. snap — to snap out of it
  3. scale — for weighing
  4. tear — from crying
  5. cap — a lid
  6. tear — to rip
  7. tear — from crying
  8. fan — a supporter
  9. club — for dancing
  10. cap — of ice
  11. vault — a safe
  12. club — for golf
  13. club — a group
  14. scale — size or range
  15. fan — to cool the air
  16. stem — of a plant
  17. vault — an arched ceiling
  18. scale — in music
  19. cap — a hat
  20. vault — in gymnastics
  21. stem — a stem cell
  22. stem — to come from
  23. fan — a supporter
  24. 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