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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: ball · wind · staff · snap · bore · vault · rash · mine

  1. Don't do anything ________________.
  2. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  3. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  4. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  5. The King held a masked ________________.
  6. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  7. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  8. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  9. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  10. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  11. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  12. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  13. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  14. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  15. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  16. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  17. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  18. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  19. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  20. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  21. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  22. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  23. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  24. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.

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

Answer key

  1. rash — hasty
  2. snap — to click
  3. mine — for digging
  4. staff — a stick
  5. ball — a dance
  6. staff — employees
  7. snap — to snap out of it
  8. bore — to tire
  9. rash — a series
  10. vault — a safe
  11. ball — a round shape
  12. wind — moving air
  13. wind — to turn a key
  14. mine — belonging to me
  15. staff — employees
  16. wind — moving air
  17. vault — an arched ceiling
  18. rash — on the skin
  19. snap — to speak sharply
  20. bore — gave birth
  21. ball — a great time
  22. bore — to drill
  23. mine — an explosive
  24. vault — in gymnastics

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