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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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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: ball · wound · vault · stick · swing · rule · cell · game

  1. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  2. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  3. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  4. The King held a masked ________________.
  5. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  6. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  7. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  8. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  9. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  10. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  11. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  12. David sat on the ________________.
  13. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  14. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  15. That was a fun ________________.
  16. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  17. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  18. He was locked up in a ________________.
  19. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  20. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  21. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  22. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  23. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  24. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.

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

Answer key

  1. ball — a round shape
  2. stick — a piece of wood
  3. cell — a phone
  4. ball — a dance
  5. ball — a great time
  6. vault — in gymnastics
  7. vault — a safe
  8. rule — to rule out
  9. game — a kind of play
  10. game — wild animals
  11. cell — in biology
  12. swing — to play on
  13. rule — a law
  14. stick — a piece of wood
  15. game — a match
  16. wound — an injury
  17. swing — in golf
  18. cell — in a prison
  19. wound — an injury
  20. vault — an arched ceiling
  21. rule — government
  22. stick — to attach or keep to
  23. wound — past of 'wind'
  24. swing — music

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