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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: vault · coach · band · mine · snap · key · leaves · bark

  1. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  2. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  3. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  4. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  5. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  6. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  7. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  8. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  9. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  10. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  11. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  12. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  13. Have you met the new head ________________?
  14. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  15. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  16. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  17. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  18. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  19. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  20. This piece is in a major ________________.
  21. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  22. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  23. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  24. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to click
  2. mine — an explosive
  3. leaves — to go away
  4. vault — a safe
  5. coach — pulled by horses
  6. mine — for digging
  7. snap — to speak sharply
  8. vault — in gymnastics
  9. band — a music group
  10. band — a rubber band
  11. band — a ring
  12. bark — of a tree
  13. coach — a trainer
  14. bark — to shout
  15. snap — to snap out of it
  16. coach — a trainer
  17. vault — an arched ceiling
  18. leaves — lets stay
  19. key — the most important part
  20. key — in music
  21. bark — a dog's sound
  22. leaves — of a tree
  23. key — for a lock
  24. mine — belonging to me

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