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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: chest · swing · date · kid · patient · dip · vault · last

  1. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  2. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  3. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  4. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  5. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  6. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  7. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  8. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  9. David sat on the ________________.
  10. Have you settled on a ________________?
  11. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  12. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  13. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  14. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  15. False peace will not ________________.
  16. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  17. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  18. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  19. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  20. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  21. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  22. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  23. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  24. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. dip — to sink
  2. vault — a safe
  3. chest — of your body
  4. last — finally
  5. kid — child
  6. patient — a sick person
  7. patient — calm and waiting
  8. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  9. swing — to play on
  10. date — on the calendar
  11. kid — to tease
  12. chest — a box
  13. vault — in gymnastics
  14. chest — of your body
  15. last — to go on
  16. dip — to dunk
  17. vault — an arched ceiling
  18. date — on the calendar
  19. swing — in golf
  20. dip — a sauce
  21. date — the fruit
  22. last — final
  23. swing — music
  24. patient — a sick person

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