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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: net · track · snap · last · vault · bark · staff · wound

  1. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  2. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  3. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  4. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  5. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  6. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  7. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  8. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  9. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  10. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  11. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  12. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  13. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  14. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  15. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  16. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  17. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  18. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  19. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  20. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  21. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  22. False peace will not ________________.
  23. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  24. At ________________, we arrived at the village.

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

Answer key

  1. last — final
  2. snap — to snap out of it
  3. bark — to shout
  4. snap — to speak sharply
  5. wound — an injury
  6. track — a path
  7. bark — of a tree
  8. staff — employees
  9. snap — to click
  10. net — in sport
  11. staff — a stick
  12. track — to keep track
  13. vault — in gymnastics
  14. track — a song
  15. vault — an arched ceiling
  16. net — for catching
  17. wound — an injury
  18. staff — employees
  19. wound — past of 'wind'
  20. bark — a dog's sound
  21. net — after costs
  22. last — to go on
  23. vault — a safe
  24. last — finally

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