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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: swing · content · mate · net · land · march · vault · fall

  1. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  2. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  3. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  4. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  5. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  6. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  7. When are we going to ________________?
  8. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  9. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  10. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  11. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  12. Have you found your soul ________________?
  13. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  14. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  15. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  16. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  17. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  18. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  19. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  20. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  21. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  22. David sat on the ________________.
  23. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  24. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.

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

Answer key

  1. vault — an arched ceiling
  2. net — in sport
  3. content — the amount
  4. content — videos and posts
  5. swing — in golf
  6. march — the month
  7. land — to come down
  8. swing — music
  9. net — after costs
  10. vault — a safe
  11. fall — to drop
  12. mate — a partner
  13. content — happy
  14. mate — to breed
  15. net — for catching
  16. land — ground
  17. march — the month
  18. land — a country
  19. march — music
  20. vault — in gymnastics
  21. mate — a friend
  22. swing — to play on
  23. fall — the season
  24. fall — to drop

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