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

Word bank: chest · vault · mouse · band · capital · swing

  1. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  2. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  3. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  4. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  5. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  6. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  7. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  8. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  9. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  10. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  11. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  12. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  13. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  14. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  15. David sat on the ________________.
  16. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  17. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  18. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mouse — for a computer
  2. chest — a box
  3. band — a music group
  4. capital — a city
  5. vault — in gymnastics
  6. swing — in golf
  7. band — a rubber band
  8. chest — of your body
  9. chest — of your body
  10. swing — music
  11. capital — a big letter
  12. vault — an arched ceiling
  13. vault — a safe
  14. mouse — the animal
  15. swing — to play on
  16. band — a ring
  17. mouse — the animal
  18. capital — money

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