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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 120 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: snap · chest · wind · game · vault · race · mouse · track

  1. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  2. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  3. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  4. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  5. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  6. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  7. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  8. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  9. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  10. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  11. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  12. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  13. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  14. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  15. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  16. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  17. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  18. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  19. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  20. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  21. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  22. That was a fun ________________.
  23. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  24. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.

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

Answer key

  1. track — a path
  2. vault — an arched ceiling
  3. snap — to click
  4. game — a kind of play
  5. snap — to speak sharply
  6. wind — moving air
  7. vault — in gymnastics
  8. snap — to snap out of it
  9. vault — a safe
  10. wind — moving air
  11. game — wild animals
  12. race — the arms race
  13. chest — a box
  14. mouse — for a computer
  15. mouse — the animal
  16. wind — to turn a key
  17. chest — of your body
  18. track — to keep track
  19. chest — of your body
  20. race — a contest
  21. track — a song
  22. game — a match
  23. race — humankind
  24. mouse — the animal

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