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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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Word bank
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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: snap · pitch · bound · ball · wound · vault · shower · chest

  1. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  2. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  3. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  4. That was ________________ to happen.
  5. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  6. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  7. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  8. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  9. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  10. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  11. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  12. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  13. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  14. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  15. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  16. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  17. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  18. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  19. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  20. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  21. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  22. The King held a masked ________________.
  23. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  24. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — to wash
  2. bound — obliged
  3. snap — to snap out of it
  4. bound — certain
  5. vault — a safe
  6. chest — a box
  7. chest — of your body
  8. ball — a great time
  9. chest — of your body
  10. pitch — a sales talk
  11. wound — past of 'wind'
  12. vault — an arched ceiling
  13. pitch — a sports field
  14. shower — rain
  15. pitch — completely
  16. ball — a round shape
  17. bound — tied together
  18. wound — an injury
  19. snap — to click
  20. snap — to speak sharply
  21. shower — a meteor shower
  22. ball — a dance
  23. vault — in gymnastics
  24. wound — an injury

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