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

Word bank: vault · bear · swing · firm · field · clip

  1. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  2. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  3. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  4. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  5. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  6. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  7. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  8. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  9. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  10. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  11. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  12. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  13. David sat on the ________________.
  14. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  15. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  16. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  17. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  18. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. firm — steady
  2. vault — an arched ceiling
  3. swing — in golf
  4. field — a subject
  5. vault — in gymnastics
  6. bear — to put up with
  7. firm — decided
  8. clip — to cut
  9. field — for sport
  10. clip — for paper
  11. swing — music
  12. firm — a company
  13. swing — to play on
  14. clip — a video
  15. bear — the animal
  16. vault — a safe
  17. bear — the animal
  18. field — farmland

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