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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: wake · toast · chest · vault · staff · snap · press · bat

  1. Did you ________________ the button?
  2. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  3. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  4. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  5. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  6. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  7. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  8. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  9. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  10. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  11. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  12. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  13. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  14. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  15. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  16. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  17. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  18. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  19. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  20. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  21. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  22. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  23. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  24. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.

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

Answer key

  1. press — to push
  2. chest — of your body
  3. wake — before a funeral
  4. snap — to speak sharply
  5. staff — a stick
  6. toast — the most admired
  7. vault — in gymnastics
  8. vault — an arched ceiling
  9. bat — the animal
  10. snap — to click
  11. chest — of your body
  12. vault — a safe
  13. bat — in an idiom
  14. toast — bread
  15. staff — employees
  16. press — newspapers
  17. wake — a trail
  18. toast — a drink to someone
  19. staff — employees
  20. chest — a box
  21. bat — for baseball
  22. snap — to snap out of it
  23. press — a publisher
  24. wake — to stop sleeping

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