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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: patient · swing · vault · bound · squash · spell · degree · track

  1. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  2. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  3. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  4. How do you ________________ your surname?
  5. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  6. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  7. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  8. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  9. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  10. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  11. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  12. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  13. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  14. That was ________________ to happen.
  15. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  16. David sat on the ________________.
  17. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  18. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  19. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  20. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  21. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  22. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  23. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  24. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.

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

Answer key

  1. vault — a safe
  2. squash — the sport
  3. vault — in gymnastics
  4. spell — letters
  5. spell — a short time
  6. bound — tied together
  7. degree — from a university
  8. squash — the vegetable
  9. vault — an arched ceiling
  10. bound — obliged
  11. patient — a sick person
  12. degree — an amount
  13. degree — temperature
  14. bound — certain
  15. track — a song
  16. swing — to play on
  17. track — a path
  18. spell — magic
  19. track — to keep track
  20. patient — a sick person
  21. squash — to crush
  22. patient — calm and waiting
  23. swing — music
  24. swing — in golf

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