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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: squash · present · chest · club · rock · vault

  1. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  2. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  3. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  4. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  5. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  6. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  7. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  8. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  9. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  10. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  11. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  12. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  13. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  14. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  15. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  16. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  17. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  18. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.

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

Answer key

  1. present — there
  2. rock — music
  3. squash — the sport
  4. squash — the vegetable
  5. chest — of your body
  6. vault — in gymnastics
  7. squash — to crush
  8. present — the time now
  9. club — for dancing
  10. vault — a safe
  11. club — for golf
  12. rock — a stone
  13. rock — to move gently
  14. chest — a box
  15. chest — of your body
  16. present — a gift
  17. club — a group
  18. vault — an arched ceiling

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