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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: game · rock · vault · march · coach · bat · scale · swing

  1. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  2. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  3. David sat on the ________________.
  4. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  5. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  6. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  7. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  8. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  9. Have you met the new head ________________?
  10. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  11. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  12. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  13. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  14. That was a fun ________________.
  15. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  16. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  17. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  18. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  19. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  20. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  21. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  22. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  23. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  24. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. game — wild animals
  2. march — the month
  3. swing — to play on
  4. vault — an arched ceiling
  5. scale — for weighing
  6. swing — music
  7. scale — in music
  8. coach — pulled by horses
  9. coach — a trainer
  10. coach — a trainer
  11. march — the month
  12. swing — in golf
  13. bat — in an idiom
  14. game — a match
  15. rock — to move gently
  16. march — music
  17. rock — music
  18. vault — in gymnastics
  19. scale — size or range
  20. bat — the animal
  21. bat — for baseball
  22. rock — a stone
  23. game — a kind of play
  24. vault — a safe

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