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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: mark · chair · vault · cell · bat · swing · row · snap

  1. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  2. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  3. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  4. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  5. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  6. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  7. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  8. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  9. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  10. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  11. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  12. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  13. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  14. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  15. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  16. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  17. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  18. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  19. David sat on the ________________.
  20. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  21. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  22. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  23. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  24. He was locked up in a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mark — a trace
  2. bat — for baseball
  3. cell — a phone
  4. row — to paddle
  5. mark — to pay attention
  6. row — a quarrel
  7. snap — to speak sharply
  8. mark — a grade
  9. snap — to click
  10. vault — a safe
  11. bat — in an idiom
  12. row — a line
  13. chair — a leader
  14. chair — a professorship
  15. snap — to snap out of it
  16. bat — the animal
  17. chair — to sit on
  18. vault — in gymnastics
  19. swing — to play on
  20. swing — in golf
  21. vault — an arched ceiling
  22. swing — music
  23. cell — in biology
  24. cell — in a prison

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