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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: bay · vault · swing · field · snap · cold · cabinet · patient

  1. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  2. My mare is ________________ in color.
  3. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  4. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  5. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  6. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  7. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  8. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  9. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  10. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  11. What do you think of the new ________________?
  12. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  13. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  14. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  15. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  16. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  17. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  18. David sat on the ________________.
  19. The water is too ________________.
  20. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  21. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  22. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  23. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  24. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.

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

Answer key

  1. swing — in golf
  2. bay — a horse colour
  3. swing — music
  4. vault — a safe
  5. cold — the Cold War
  6. field — a subject
  7. cold — an illness
  8. snap — to speak sharply
  9. patient — a sick person
  10. bay — a part of the sea
  11. cabinet — ministers
  12. field — for sport
  13. field — farmland
  14. patient — calm and waiting
  15. patient — a sick person
  16. vault — an arched ceiling
  17. bay — to keep at bay
  18. swing — to play on
  19. cold — not warm
  20. vault — in gymnastics
  21. snap — to snap out of it
  22. cabinet — a cupboard
  23. cabinet — ministers
  24. snap — to click

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