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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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Word bank
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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: mouse · land · cold · snap · race · vault · spring · charge

  1. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  2. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  3. The water is too ________________.
  4. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  5. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  6. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  7. The tickets are free of ________________.
  8. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  9. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  10. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  11. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  12. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  13. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  14. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  15. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  16. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  17. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  18. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  19. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  20. When are we going to ________________?
  21. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  22. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  23. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  24. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.

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

Answer key

  1. mouse — for a computer
  2. cold — an illness
  3. cold — not warm
  4. vault — an arched ceiling
  5. charge — electricity
  6. land — ground
  7. charge — a price
  8. spring — a coil
  9. spring — of water
  10. snap — to speak sharply
  11. race — humankind
  12. mouse — the animal
  13. snap — to click
  14. race — the arms race
  15. snap — to snap out of it
  16. race — a contest
  17. land — a country
  18. charge — in control
  19. cold — the Cold War
  20. land — to come down
  21. vault — in gymnastics
  22. spring — the season
  23. vault — a safe
  24. mouse — the animal

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