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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: dip · snap · date · capital · vault · row · last · hand

  1. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  2. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  3. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  4. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  5. Have you settled on a ________________?
  6. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  7. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  8. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  9. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  10. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  11. False peace will not ________________.
  12. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  13. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  14. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  15. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  16. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  17. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  18. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  19. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  20. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  21. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  22. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  23. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  24. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.

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

Answer key

  1. vault — a safe
  2. row — a line
  3. row — to paddle
  4. row — a quarrel
  5. date — on the calendar
  6. vault — in gymnastics
  7. hand — in cards
  8. date — the fruit
  9. snap — to snap out of it
  10. dip — to sink
  11. last — to go on
  12. capital — a city
  13. last — final
  14. date — on the calendar
  15. snap — to speak sharply
  16. hand — help
  17. dip — a sauce
  18. dip — to dunk
  19. last — finally
  20. hand — part of the body
  21. capital — money
  22. snap — to click
  23. vault — an arched ceiling
  24. capital — a big letter

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