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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: drill · wind · snap · pop · club · vault · leaves · bay

  1. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  2. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  3. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  4. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  5. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  6. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  7. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  8. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  9. We're almost out of ________________.
  10. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  11. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  12. My mare is ________________ in color.
  13. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  14. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  15. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  16. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  17. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  18. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  19. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  20. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  21. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  22. You don't need to ________________ round.
  23. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  24. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to speak sharply
  2. leaves — of a tree
  3. pop — music
  4. vault — a safe
  5. club — a group
  6. wind — to turn a key
  7. snap — to snap out of it
  8. leaves — lets stay
  9. pop — soda
  10. club — for dancing
  11. club — for golf
  12. bay — a horse colour
  13. wind — moving air
  14. drill — army training
  15. wind — moving air
  16. drill — the tool
  17. leaves — to go away
  18. vault — in gymnastics
  19. drill — a practice
  20. vault — an arched ceiling
  21. snap — to click
  22. pop — to visit
  23. bay — to keep at bay
  24. bay — a part of the sea

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