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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: cap · pitcher · snap · wind · vault · temple · track · game

  1. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  2. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  3. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  4. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  5. That was a fun ________________.
  6. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  7. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  8. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  9. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  10. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  11. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  12. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  13. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  14. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  15. When was this ________________ built?
  16. He is an ace ________________.
  17. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  18. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  19. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  20. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  21. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  22. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  23. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  24. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.

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

Answer key

  1. cap — of ice
  2. cap — a hat
  3. temple — a place of worship
  4. snap — to snap out of it
  5. game — a match
  6. cap — a lid
  7. wind — moving air
  8. game — a kind of play
  9. wind — to turn a key
  10. game — wild animals
  11. pitcher — a jug
  12. track — to keep track
  13. vault — in gymnastics
  14. snap — to click
  15. temple — a place of worship
  16. pitcher — in baseball
  17. pitcher — a jug
  18. snap — to speak sharply
  19. vault — an arched ceiling
  20. vault — a safe
  21. temple — side of the head
  22. track — a song
  23. track — a path
  24. wind — moving air

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