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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: swing · file · mine · vault · chest · nail · snap · capital

  1. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  2. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  3. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  4. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  5. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  6. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  7. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  8. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  9. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  10. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  11. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  12. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  13. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  14. The ________________ went through the wall.
  15. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  16. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  17. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  18. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  19. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  20. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  21. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  22. David sat on the ________________.
  23. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  24. She's sitting on a gold ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. file — a tool
  2. capital — a big letter
  3. vault — in gymnastics
  4. capital — a city
  5. snap — to speak sharply
  6. snap — to click
  7. vault — an arched ceiling
  8. file — a document
  9. chest — a box
  10. capital — money
  11. chest — of your body
  12. mine — belonging to me
  13. file — a line of people
  14. nail — for a hammer
  15. swing — in golf
  16. nail — on a finger
  17. chest — of your body
  18. mine — an explosive
  19. vault — a safe
  20. snap — to snap out of it
  21. nail — for a hammer
  22. swing — to play on
  23. swing — music
  24. mine — for digging

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