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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.

Words on the sheet
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Word bank
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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: bat · spring · vault · swing · chest · racket · rush · wax

  1. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  2. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  3. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  4. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  5. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  6. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  7. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  8. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  9. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  10. David sat on the ________________.
  11. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  12. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  13. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  14. That must've been a ________________.
  15. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  16. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  17. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  18. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  19. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  20. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  21. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  22. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  23. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  24. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.

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

Answer key

  1. rush — hurry
  2. wax — to grow
  3. wax — for sculpting
  4. vault — in gymnastics
  5. spring — a coil
  6. bat — in an idiom
  7. wax — in the ear
  8. swing — music
  9. spring — of water
  10. swing — to play on
  11. racket — for tennis
  12. chest — of your body
  13. bat — the animal
  14. rush — a thrill
  15. vault — a safe
  16. racket — for tennis
  17. vault — an arched ceiling
  18. rush — to hurry
  19. chest — of your body
  20. spring — the season
  21. bat — for baseball
  22. swing — in golf
  23. racket — a loud noise
  24. chest — a box

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