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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: mouse · snap · nail · kid · roll · vault · wake · degree

  1. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  2. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  3. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  4. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  5. We're on a ________________ here.
  6. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  7. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  8. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  9. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  10. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  11. The ________________ went through the wall.
  12. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  13. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  14. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  15. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  16. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  17. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  18. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  19. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  20. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  21. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  22. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  23. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  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. degree — an amount
  2. snap — to click
  3. vault — a safe
  4. snap — to speak sharply
  5. roll — on a roll
  6. nail — for a hammer
  7. wake — to stop sleeping
  8. nail — on a finger
  9. mouse — for a computer
  10. wake — a trail
  11. nail — for a hammer
  12. snap — to snap out of it
  13. degree — from a university
  14. mouse — the animal
  15. vault — in gymnastics
  16. kid — child
  17. kid — to tease
  18. degree — temperature
  19. roll — a list
  20. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  21. wake — before a funeral
  22. mouse — the animal
  23. roll — a cake
  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