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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: file · snap · arm · deal · spring · vault · pitcher · shower

  1. My father caught me by the ________________.
  2. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  3. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  4. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  5. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  6. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  7. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  8. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  9. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  10. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  11. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  12. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  13. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  14. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  15. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  16. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  17. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  18. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  19. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  20. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  21. He is an ace ________________.
  22. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  23. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  24. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.

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

Answer key

  1. arm — part of the body
  2. vault — a safe
  3. snap — to snap out of it
  4. vault — in gymnastics
  5. arm — part of the body
  6. snap — to speak sharply
  7. pitcher — a jug
  8. deal — to handle
  9. deal — a big deal
  10. spring — a coil
  11. file — a line of people
  12. vault — an arched ceiling
  13. snap — to click
  14. pitcher — a jug
  15. shower — rain
  16. spring — the season
  17. arm — a part of something
  18. deal — an agreement
  19. spring — of water
  20. shower — a meteor shower
  21. pitcher — in baseball
  22. shower — to wash
  23. file — a tool
  24. file — a document

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