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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: hand · snap · cold · stick · shower · vault · chest · rash

  1. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  2. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  3. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  4. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  5. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  6. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  7. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  8. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  9. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  10. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  11. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  12. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  13. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  14. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  15. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  16. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  17. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  18. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  19. The water is too ________________.
  20. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  21. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  22. Don't do anything ________________.
  23. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  24. I seem to be developing a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to snap out of it
  2. stick — a piece of wood
  3. shower — a meteor shower
  4. hand — part of the body
  5. chest — of your body
  6. stick — to attach or keep to
  7. vault — an arched ceiling
  8. stick — a piece of wood
  9. cold — the Cold War
  10. shower — rain
  11. snap — to speak sharply
  12. shower — to wash
  13. hand — in cards
  14. vault — in gymnastics
  15. rash — a series
  16. chest — a box
  17. snap — to click
  18. vault — a safe
  19. cold — not warm
  20. hand — help
  21. chest — of your body
  22. rash — hasty
  23. cold — an illness
  24. rash — on the skin

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