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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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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: mine · vault · hand · fan · stock · rest · snap · fork

  1. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  2. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  3. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  4. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  5. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  6. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  7. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  8. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  9. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  10. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  11. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  12. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  13. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  14. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  15. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  16. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  17. The ________________ market has crashed.
  18. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  19. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  20. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  21. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  22. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  23. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  24. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fan — a supporter
  2. hand — help
  3. snap — to snap out of it
  4. fork — a garden tool
  5. snap — to click
  6. mine — belonging to me
  7. stock — a soup base
  8. mine — an explosive
  9. mine — for digging
  10. stock — goods
  11. vault — an arched ceiling
  12. fan — to cool the air
  13. fan — a supporter
  14. hand — part of the body
  15. rest — what's left
  16. rest — what's left
  17. stock — shares
  18. snap — to speak sharply
  19. vault — in gymnastics
  20. fork — to eat with
  21. hand — in cards
  22. fork — in a road
  23. rest — a break
  24. vault — a safe

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