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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: snap · pop · chest · vault · band · bark · saw · date

  1. We're almost out of ________________.
  2. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  3. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  4. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  5. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  6. You don't need to ________________ round.
  7. She's very handy with a ________________.
  8. He works in a ________________ mill.
  9. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  10. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  11. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  12. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  13. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  14. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  15. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  16. Have you settled on a ________________?
  17. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  18. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  19. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  20. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  21. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  22. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  23. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  24. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.

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

Answer key

  1. pop — soda
  2. chest — of your body
  3. date — the fruit
  4. date — on the calendar
  5. chest — a box
  6. pop — to visit
  7. saw — the tool
  8. saw — the tool
  9. snap — to snap out of it
  10. bark — to shout
  11. bark — of a tree
  12. snap — to click
  13. vault — an arched ceiling
  14. snap — to speak sharply
  15. vault — a safe
  16. date — on the calendar
  17. saw — past of 'see'
  18. vault — in gymnastics
  19. bark — a dog's sound
  20. band — a music group
  21. chest — of your body
  22. band — a ring
  23. pop — music
  24. band — a rubber band

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