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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 120 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: vault · bear · kick · patient · march · saw · mug · snap

  1. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  2. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  3. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  4. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  5. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  6. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  7. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  8. He works in a ________________ mill.
  9. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  10. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  11. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  12. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  13. She's very handy with a ________________.
  14. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  15. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  16. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  17. Where did you ________________ them?
  18. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  19. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  20. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  21. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  22. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  23. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  24. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to click
  2. patient — calm and waiting
  3. kick — a thrill
  4. vault — an arched ceiling
  5. vault — a safe
  6. snap — to speak sharply
  7. patient — a sick person
  8. saw — the tool
  9. snap — to snap out of it
  10. patient — a sick person
  11. march — music
  12. kick — in football
  13. saw — the tool
  14. bear — the animal
  15. mug — a cup
  16. vault — in gymnastics
  17. mug — to rob
  18. mug — a face
  19. bear — the animal
  20. bear — to put up with
  21. kick — with a leg
  22. march — the month
  23. saw — past of 'see'
  24. march — the month

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