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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: rush · toast · vault · nail · pop · fall · field · snap

  1. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  2. We're almost out of ________________.
  3. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  4. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  5. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  6. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  7. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  8. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  9. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  10. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  11. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  12. You don't need to ________________ round.
  13. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  14. That must've been a ________________.
  15. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  16. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  17. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  18. The ________________ went through the wall.
  19. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  20. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  21. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  22. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  23. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  24. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to click
  2. pop — soda
  3. rush — hurry
  4. fall — to drop
  5. toast — the most admired
  6. rush — to hurry
  7. field — for sport
  8. nail — on a finger
  9. snap — to speak sharply
  10. toast — a drink to someone
  11. field — a subject
  12. pop — to visit
  13. field — farmland
  14. rush — a thrill
  15. vault — in gymnastics
  16. vault — a safe
  17. fall — to drop
  18. nail — for a hammer
  19. pop — music
  20. snap — to snap out of it
  21. vault — an arched ceiling
  22. fall — the season
  23. nail — for a hammer
  24. toast — bread

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