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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: band · racket · snap · vault · game · root · hand · last

  1. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  2. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  3. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  4. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  5. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  6. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  7. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  8. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  9. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  10. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  11. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  12. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  13. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  14. False peace will not ________________.
  15. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  16. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  17. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  18. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  19. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  20. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  21. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  22. That was a fun ________________.
  23. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  24. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to click
  2. last — finally
  3. hand — in cards
  4. racket — for tennis
  5. band — a ring
  6. root — of a word
  7. vault — a safe
  8. game — a kind of play
  9. racket — for tennis
  10. band — a music group
  11. root — the cause
  12. hand — help
  13. hand — part of the body
  14. last — to go on
  15. last — final
  16. root — of a plant
  17. game — wild animals
  18. snap — to snap out of it
  19. snap — to speak sharply
  20. vault — in gymnastics
  21. racket — a loud noise
  22. game — a match
  23. band — a rubber band
  24. vault — an arched ceiling

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