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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: can · bear · bat · snap · bass · straw · chest · vault

  1. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  2. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  3. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  4. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  5. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  6. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  7. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  8. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  9. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  10. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  11. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  12. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  13. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  14. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  15. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  16. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  17. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  18. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  19. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  20. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  21. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  22. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  23. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  24. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!

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

Answer key

  1. vault — in gymnastics
  2. snap — to speak sharply
  3. snap — to click
  4. can — a tin
  5. straw — to clutch at straws
  6. chest — of your body
  7. snap — to snap out of it
  8. bass — the instrument
  9. bass — the fish
  10. can — a tin
  11. chest — a box
  12. bat — for baseball
  13. bat — in an idiom
  14. vault — a safe
  15. bat — the animal
  16. straw — a straw man
  17. straw — dry grass
  18. bear — the animal
  19. bear — the animal
  20. chest — of your body
  21. can — to be able to
  22. bass — low music
  23. vault — an arched ceiling
  24. bear — to put up with

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