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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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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: vault · trunk · bass · swing · present · ball · hand · mine

  1. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  2. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  3. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  4. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  5. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  6. David sat on the ________________.
  7. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  8. The King held a masked ________________.
  9. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  10. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  11. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  12. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  13. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  14. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  15. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  16. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  17. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  18. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  19. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  20. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  21. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  22. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  23. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  24. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.

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

Answer key

  1. vault — in gymnastics
  2. ball — a great time
  3. present — the time now
  4. present — a gift
  5. mine — an explosive
  6. swing — to play on
  7. trunk — of a car
  8. ball — a dance
  9. hand — help
  10. trunk — of an elephant
  11. mine — for digging
  12. vault — a safe
  13. swing — in golf
  14. swing — music
  15. trunk — of a tree
  16. hand — part of the body
  17. ball — a round shape
  18. bass — the fish
  19. present — there
  20. bass — low music
  21. bass — the instrument
  22. hand — in cards
  23. vault — an arched ceiling
  24. mine — belonging to me

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