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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: pop · vault · wind · fall · snap · kid · bat · jam

  1. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  2. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  3. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  4. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  5. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  6. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  7. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  8. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  9. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  10. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  11. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  12. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  13. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  14. We're almost out of ________________.
  15. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  16. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  17. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  18. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  19. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  20. You don't need to ________________ round.
  21. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  22. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  23. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  24. Tom got himself in a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. vault — a safe
  2. kid — to tease
  3. wind — moving air
  4. wind — to turn a key
  5. bat — the animal
  6. vault — in gymnastics
  7. snap — to click
  8. kid — child
  9. jam — to spread on bread
  10. fall — to drop
  11. bat — for baseball
  12. wind — moving air
  13. snap — to snap out of it
  14. pop — soda
  15. bat — in an idiom
  16. fall — to drop
  17. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  18. vault — an arched ceiling
  19. fall — the season
  20. pop — to visit
  21. pop — music
  22. snap — to speak sharply
  23. jam — in traffic
  24. jam — a tight spot

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