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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. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  2. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  3. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  4. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  5. I can't ________________ this cold.
  6. David sat on the ________________.
  7. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  8. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  9. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  10. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  11. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  12. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  13. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  14. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  15. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  16. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  17. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  18. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  19. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  20. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  21. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  22. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  23. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  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. trunk — of a car
  2. pound — to hit hard
  3. bat — the animal
  4. bat — in an idiom
  5. stand — to bear
  6. swing — to play on
  7. swing — in golf
  8. bat — for baseball
  9. pound — for dogs
  10. field — a subject
  11. field — for sport
  12. bass — low music
  13. stand — on your feet
  14. pound — a weight
  15. vault — an arched ceiling
  16. bass — the fish
  17. stand — for spectators
  18. trunk — of a tree
  19. bass — the instrument
  20. trunk — of an elephant
  21. vault — a safe
  22. vault — in gymnastics
  23. field — farmland
  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