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

  1. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  2. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  3. It's one o'clock ________________.
  4. David sat on the ________________.
  5. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  6. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  7. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  8. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  9. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  10. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  11. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  12. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  13. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  14. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  15. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  16. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  17. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  18. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  19. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  20. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  21. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  22. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  23. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  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. racket — a loud noise
  2. vault — a safe
  3. sharp — exactly
  4. swing — to play on
  5. swing — music
  6. row — to paddle
  7. straw — a straw man
  8. sharp — clever
  9. sharp — with an edge
  10. vault — in gymnastics
  11. racket — for tennis
  12. row — a quarrel
  13. branch — of a bank
  14. straw — dry grass
  15. vault — an arched ceiling
  16. racket — for tennis
  17. row — a line
  18. swing — in golf
  19. net — after costs
  20. branch — of a tree
  21. straw — to clutch at straws
  22. net — for catching
  23. branch — a division
  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