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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: kid · wind · cap · vault · chip · foot · snap · fall

  1. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  2. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  3. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  4. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  5. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  6. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  7. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  8. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  9. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  10. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  11. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  12. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  13. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  14. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  15. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  16. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  17. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  18. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  19. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  20. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  21. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  22. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  23. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  24. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?

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

Answer key

  1. wind — moving air
  2. vault — a safe
  3. wind — moving air
  4. vault — an arched ceiling
  5. vault — in gymnastics
  6. cap — a hat
  7. snap — to click
  8. cap — of ice
  9. foot — the bottom
  10. chip — for betting
  11. fall — to drop
  12. kid — child
  13. snap — to snap out of it
  14. fall — the season
  15. chip — to eat
  16. snap — to speak sharply
  17. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  18. foot — a measure
  19. kid — to tease
  20. fall — to drop
  21. wind — to turn a key
  22. chip — in a computer
  23. foot — part of the body
  24. cap — a lid

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