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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: vault · last · bear · scale · pitcher · fan · snap · chest

  1. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  2. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  3. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  4. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  5. He is an ace ________________.
  6. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  7. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  8. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  9. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  10. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  11. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  12. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  13. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  14. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  15. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  16. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  17. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  18. False peace will not ________________.
  19. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  20. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  21. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  22. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  23. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  24. A black ________________ roamed the forest.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to click
  2. snap — to speak sharply
  3. vault — an arched ceiling
  4. fan — to cool the air
  5. pitcher — in baseball
  6. last — final
  7. scale — size or range
  8. scale — in music
  9. bear — the animal
  10. scale — for weighing
  11. pitcher — a jug
  12. vault — in gymnastics
  13. fan — a supporter
  14. chest — a box
  15. bear — to put up with
  16. vault — a safe
  17. chest — of your body
  18. last — to go on
  19. last — finally
  20. fan — a supporter
  21. pitcher — a jug
  22. chest — of your body
  23. snap — to snap out of it
  24. bear — the animal

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