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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: vault · net · club · face · swing · last · wind · spell

  1. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  2. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  3. How do you ________________ your surname?
  4. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  5. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  6. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  7. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  8. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  9. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  10. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  11. False peace will not ________________.
  12. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  13. David sat on the ________________.
  14. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  15. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  16. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  17. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  18. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  19. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  20. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  21. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  22. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  23. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  24. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.

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

Answer key

  1. last — finally
  2. club — a group
  3. spell — letters
  4. last — final
  5. wind — moving air
  6. net — in sport
  7. vault — in gymnastics
  8. club — for golf
  9. net — after costs
  10. spell — magic
  11. last — to go on
  12. face — part of the head
  13. swing — to play on
  14. vault — a safe
  15. wind — moving air
  16. face — to confront
  17. net — for catching
  18. swing — music
  19. spell — a short time
  20. vault — an arched ceiling
  21. face — to point toward
  22. swing — in golf
  23. wind — to turn a key
  24. club — for dancing

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