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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: snap · last · dip · arm · bowl · vault · scale · land

  1. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  2. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  3. My father caught me by the ________________.
  4. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  5. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  6. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  7. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  8. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  9. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  10. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  11. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  12. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  13. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  14. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  15. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  16. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  17. False peace will not ________________.
  18. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  19. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  20. When are we going to ________________?
  21. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  22. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  23. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  24. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — to roll
  2. snap — to speak sharply
  3. arm — part of the body
  4. land — ground
  5. vault — a safe
  6. arm — a part of something
  7. dip — a sauce
  8. vault — an arched ceiling
  9. snap — to snap out of it
  10. land — a country
  11. arm — part of the body
  12. bowl — a dish
  13. snap — to click
  14. bowl — a football final
  15. dip — to dunk
  16. last — finally
  17. last — to go on
  18. vault — in gymnastics
  19. scale — for weighing
  20. land — to come down
  21. scale — size or range
  22. scale — in music
  23. dip — to sink
  24. last — final

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