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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: vault · hand · snap · kid · suit · game · cabinet · spring

  1. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  2. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  3. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  4. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  5. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  6. When will it ________________ you to start?
  7. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  8. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  9. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  10. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  11. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  12. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  13. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  14. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  15. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  16. What do you think of the new ________________?
  17. That was a fun ________________.
  18. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  19. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  20. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  21. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  22. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  23. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  24. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. game — a kind of play
  2. suit — clothes
  3. vault — in gymnastics
  4. kid — to tease
  5. hand — in cards
  6. suit — to fit
  7. hand — help
  8. suit — in cards
  9. vault — a safe
  10. spring — a coil
  11. snap — to speak sharply
  12. game — wild animals
  13. spring — of water
  14. snap — to click
  15. spring — the season
  16. cabinet — ministers
  17. game — a match
  18. kid — child
  19. vault — an arched ceiling
  20. cabinet — ministers
  21. snap — to snap out of it
  22. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  23. hand — part of the body
  24. cabinet — a cupboard

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