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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: vault · tube · date · swing · degree · mine · ball · cap

  1. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  2. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  3. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  4. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  5. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  6. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  7. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  8. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  9. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  10. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  11. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  12. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  13. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  14. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  15. David sat on the ________________.
  16. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  17. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  18. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  19. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  20. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  21. I'll be taking the ________________.
  22. Have you settled on a ________________?
  23. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  24. The King held a masked ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. swing — music
  2. tube — in a tire
  3. cap — a lid
  4. ball — a great time
  5. mine — belonging to me
  6. mine — an explosive
  7. ball — a round shape
  8. cap — of ice
  9. mine — for digging
  10. degree — temperature
  11. cap — a hat
  12. vault — an arched ceiling
  13. swing — in golf
  14. vault — in gymnastics
  15. swing — to play on
  16. degree — an amount
  17. tube — a container
  18. degree — from a university
  19. date — the fruit
  20. date — on the calendar
  21. tube — the underground
  22. date — on the calendar
  23. vault — a safe
  24. ball — a dance

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