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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: vault · tear · nail · field · key · march · swing · chest

  1. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  2. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  3. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  4. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  5. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  6. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  7. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  8. David sat on the ________________.
  9. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  10. The ________________ went through the wall.
  11. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  12. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  13. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  14. This piece is in a major ________________.
  15. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  16. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  17. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  18. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  19. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  20. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  21. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  22. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  23. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  24. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.

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

Answer key

  1. field — for sport
  2. nail — for a hammer
  3. vault — an arched ceiling
  4. vault — in gymnastics
  5. field — farmland
  6. march — the month
  7. key — for a lock
  8. swing — to play on
  9. key — the most important part
  10. nail — for a hammer
  11. march — the month
  12. nail — on a finger
  13. swing — in golf
  14. key — in music
  15. chest — of your body
  16. vault — a safe
  17. tear — from crying
  18. tear — from crying
  19. chest — of your body
  20. chest — a box
  21. swing — music
  22. march — music
  23. tear — to rip
  24. field — a subject

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