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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 in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  2. David sat on the ________________.
  3. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  4. False peace will not ________________.
  5. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  6. We're almost out of ________________.
  7. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  8. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  9. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  10. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  11. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  12. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  13. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  14. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  15. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  16. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  17. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  18. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  19. You don't need to ________________ round.
  20. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  21. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  22. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  23. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  24. The ball hit the back of the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. last — finally
  2. swing — to play on
  3. band — a ring
  4. last — to go on
  5. chest — of your body
  6. pop — soda
  7. fan — to cool the air
  8. chest — of your body
  9. swing — music
  10. swing — in golf
  11. net — after costs
  12. pop — music
  13. fan — a supporter
  14. band — a music group
  15. chest — a box
  16. net — for catching
  17. band — a rubber band
  18. vault — in gymnastics
  19. pop — to visit
  20. last — final
  21. vault — a safe
  22. fan — a supporter
  23. vault — an arched ceiling
  24. net — in sport

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