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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 116 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: bay · rule · cold · can · snap · vault · sharp · wind

  1. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  2. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  3. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  4. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  5. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  6. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  7. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  8. It's one o'clock ________________.
  9. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  10. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  11. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  12. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  13. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  14. My mare is ________________ in color.
  15. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  16. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  17. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  18. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  19. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  20. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  21. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  22. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  23. The water is too ________________.
  24. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. vault — an arched ceiling
  2. snap — to click
  3. bay — a part of the sea
  4. wind — moving air
  5. snap — to speak sharply
  6. bay — to keep at bay
  7. sharp — with an edge
  8. sharp — exactly
  9. can — to be able to
  10. wind — to turn a key
  11. vault — in gymnastics
  12. rule — government
  13. snap — to snap out of it
  14. bay — a horse colour
  15. cold — an illness
  16. can — a tin
  17. rule — to rule out
  18. cold — the Cold War
  19. can — a tin
  20. rule — a law
  21. sharp — clever
  22. wind — moving air
  23. cold — not warm
  24. vault — a safe

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