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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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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: march · kid · ball · vault · snap · field · cue · bound

  1. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  2. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  3. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  4. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  5. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  6. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  7. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  8. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  9. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  10. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  11. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  12. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  13. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  14. The King held a masked ________________.
  15. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  16. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  17. That was ________________ to happen.
  18. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  19. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  20. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  21. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  22. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  23. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  24. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cue — a signal
  2. kid — to tease
  3. march — music
  4. snap — to snap out of it
  5. cue — for pool
  6. march — the month
  7. snap — to click
  8. field — a subject
  9. kid — child
  10. bound — tied together
  11. field — for sport
  12. snap — to speak sharply
  13. vault — an arched ceiling
  14. ball — a dance
  15. bound — obliged
  16. vault — a safe
  17. bound — certain
  18. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  19. cue — a hint
  20. ball — a round shape
  21. ball — a great time
  22. vault — in gymnastics
  23. march — the month
  24. field — farmland

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