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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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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: cold · kick · staff · snap · mouse · vault · lie · mate

  1. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  2. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  3. Have you found your soul ________________?
  4. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  5. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  6. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  7. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  8. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  9. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  10. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  11. The water is too ________________.
  12. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  13. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  14. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  15. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  16. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  17. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  18. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  19. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  20. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  21. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  22. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  23. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  24. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.

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

Answer key

  1. mouse — for a computer
  2. mate — a friend
  3. mate — a partner
  4. staff — employees
  5. kick — with a leg
  6. cold — the Cold War
  7. lie — an untruth
  8. snap — to snap out of it
  9. cold — an illness
  10. kick — a thrill
  11. cold — not warm
  12. lie — an untruth
  13. kick — in football
  14. mouse — the animal
  15. snap — to speak sharply
  16. staff — a stick
  17. snap — to click
  18. vault — in gymnastics
  19. lie — to recline
  20. staff — employees
  21. vault — an arched ceiling
  22. vault — a safe
  23. mouse — the animal
  24. mate — to breed

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