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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: snap · bowl · vault · dip · spell · shower · content · mine

  1. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  2. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  3. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  4. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  5. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  6. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  7. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  8. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  9. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  10. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  11. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  12. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  13. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  14. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  15. How do you ________________ your surname?
  16. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  17. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  18. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  19. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  20. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  21. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  22. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  23. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  24. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — to wash
  2. snap — to click
  3. mine — an explosive
  4. content — videos and posts
  5. bowl — a dish
  6. content — happy
  7. dip — a sauce
  8. spell — a short time
  9. vault — an arched ceiling
  10. bowl — a football final
  11. vault — in gymnastics
  12. shower — a meteor shower
  13. shower — rain
  14. snap — to snap out of it
  15. spell — letters
  16. dip — to dunk
  17. content — the amount
  18. mine — for digging
  19. spell — magic
  20. snap — to speak sharply
  21. vault — a safe
  22. dip — to sink
  23. mine — belonging to me
  24. bowl — to roll

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