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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: racket · field · hide · date · vault · chest · swing · rash

  1. David sat on the ________________.
  2. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  3. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  4. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  5. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  6. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  7. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  8. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  9. Don't do anything ________________.
  10. Have you settled on a ________________?
  11. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  12. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  13. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  14. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  15. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  16. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  17. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  18. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  19. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  20. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  21. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  22. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  23. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  24. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. swing — to play on
  2. rash — a series
  3. rash — on the skin
  4. chest — of your body
  5. hide — to keep secret
  6. field — a subject
  7. chest — of your body
  8. vault — a safe
  9. rash — hasty
  10. date — on the calendar
  11. field — farmland
  12. vault — in gymnastics
  13. racket — for tennis
  14. racket — for tennis
  15. hide — animal skin
  16. swing — music
  17. vault — an arched ceiling
  18. racket — a loud noise
  19. date — on the calendar
  20. date — the fruit
  21. chest — a box
  22. hide — to keep secret
  23. swing — in golf
  24. field — for sport

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