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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. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  2. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  3. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  4. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  5. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  6. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  7. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  8. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  9. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  10. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  11. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  12. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  13. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  14. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  15. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  16. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  17. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  18. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  19. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  20. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  21. He was locked up in a ________________.
  22. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  23. David sat on the ________________.
  24. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!

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

Answer key

  1. vault — in gymnastics
  2. cell — in biology
  3. bat — for baseball
  4. bat — the animal
  5. capital — a big letter
  6. vault — an arched ceiling
  7. field — for sport
  8. field — a subject
  9. swing — music
  10. chair — a leader
  11. swing — in golf
  12. vault — a safe
  13. wake — to stop sleeping
  14. wake — before a funeral
  15. bat — in an idiom
  16. capital — a city
  17. chair — to sit on
  18. capital — money
  19. chair — a professorship
  20. wake — a trail
  21. cell — in a prison
  22. field — farmland
  23. swing — to play on
  24. cell — a phone

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