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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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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: wound · last · vault · snap · chest · season · wake · nail

  1. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  2. The ________________ went through the wall.
  3. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  4. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  5. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  6. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  7. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  8. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  9. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  10. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  11. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  12. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  13. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  14. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  15. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  16. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  17. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  18. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  19. False peace will not ________________.
  20. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  21. Did you ________________ the meat?
  22. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  23. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  24. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to click
  2. nail — for a hammer
  3. snap — to speak sharply
  4. season — of the year
  5. chest — a box
  6. vault — in gymnastics
  7. chest — of your body
  8. vault — a safe
  9. chest — of your body
  10. nail — on a finger
  11. wound — past of 'wind'
  12. last — final
  13. last — finally
  14. nail — for a hammer
  15. wake — a trail
  16. vault — an arched ceiling
  17. season — in sport
  18. wound — an injury
  19. last — to go on
  20. wake — to stop sleeping
  21. season — to add flavour
  22. wound — an injury
  23. wake — before a funeral
  24. snap — to snap out of it

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