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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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 · bass · kick · chest · swing · march · vault · rush

  1. That was a fun ________________.
  2. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  3. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  4. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  5. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  6. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  7. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  8. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  9. David sat on the ________________.
  10. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  11. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  12. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  13. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  14. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  15. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  16. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  17. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  18. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  19. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  20. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  21. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  22. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  23. That must've been a ________________.
  24. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. game — a match
  2. march — music
  3. swing — in golf
  4. bass — low music
  5. rush — to hurry
  6. kick — with a leg
  7. game — a kind of play
  8. vault — a safe
  9. swing — to play on
  10. kick — a thrill
  11. rush — hurry
  12. chest — a box
  13. swing — music
  14. game — wild animals
  15. march — the month
  16. bass — the instrument
  17. kick — in football
  18. chest — of your body
  19. vault — an arched ceiling
  20. vault — in gymnastics
  21. bass — the fish
  22. chest — of your body
  23. rush — a thrill
  24. march — the month

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