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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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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: press · perch · swing · vault · temple · chest · wound · spring

  1. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  2. David sat on the ________________.
  3. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  4. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  5. When was this ________________ built?
  6. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  7. Did you ________________ the button?
  8. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  9. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  10. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  11. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  12. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  13. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  14. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  15. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  16. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  17. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  18. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  19. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  20. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  21. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  22. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  23. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  24. 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. spring — a coil
  2. swing — to play on
  3. chest — of your body
  4. wound — past of 'wind'
  5. temple — a place of worship
  6. spring — of water
  7. press — to push
  8. perch — for a bird
  9. perch — for a bird
  10. perch — the fish
  11. swing — in golf
  12. vault — a safe
  13. spring — the season
  14. wound — an injury
  15. chest — of your body
  16. temple — a place of worship
  17. temple — side of the head
  18. vault — in gymnastics
  19. chest — a box
  20. press — a publisher
  21. swing — music
  22. wound — an injury
  23. press — newspapers
  24. 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