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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: vault · bass · wind · squash · bat · cell · swing · deal

  1. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  2. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  3. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  4. David sat on the ________________.
  5. He was locked up in a ________________.
  6. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  7. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  8. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  9. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  10. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  11. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  12. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  13. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  14. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  15. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  16. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  17. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  18. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  19. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  20. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  21. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  22. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  23. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  24. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.

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

Answer key

  1. cell — a phone
  2. deal — a big deal
  3. wind — moving air
  4. swing — to play on
  5. cell — in a prison
  6. deal — to handle
  7. deal — an agreement
  8. cell — in biology
  9. bat — in an idiom
  10. squash — to crush
  11. swing — music
  12. vault — in gymnastics
  13. squash — the sport
  14. bat — the animal
  15. vault — an arched ceiling
  16. swing — in golf
  17. vault — a safe
  18. bass — low music
  19. squash — the vegetable
  20. bass — the instrument
  21. bass — the fish
  22. wind — moving air
  23. bat — for baseball
  24. wind — to turn a key

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