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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. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  2. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  3. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  4. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  5. We're on a ________________ here.
  6. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  7. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  8. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  9. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  10. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  11. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  12. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  13. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  14. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  15. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  16. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  17. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  18. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  19. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  20. Have you settled on a ________________?
  21. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  22. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  23. David sat on the ________________.
  24. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.

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

Answer key

  1. roll — a cake
  2. vault — in gymnastics
  3. vault — a safe
  4. can — to be able to
  5. roll — on a roll
  6. net — for catching
  7. row — to paddle
  8. net — in sport
  9. row — a quarrel
  10. wound — past of 'wind'
  11. row — a line
  12. date — on the calendar
  13. date — the fruit
  14. vault — an arched ceiling
  15. swing — in golf
  16. can — a tin
  17. can — a tin
  18. wound — an injury
  19. net — after costs
  20. date — on the calendar
  21. wound — an injury
  22. roll — a list
  23. swing — to play on
  24. swing — music

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