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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: chest · field · stick · roll · vault · swing · cold · object

  1. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  2. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  3. David sat on the ________________.
  4. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  5. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  6. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  7. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  8. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  9. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  10. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  11. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  12. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  13. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  14. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  15. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  16. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  17. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  18. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  19. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  20. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  21. We're on a ________________ here.
  22. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  23. The water is too ________________.
  24. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.

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

Answer key

  1. stick — a piece of wood
  2. vault — an arched ceiling
  3. swing — to play on
  4. field — for sport
  5. swing — music
  6. cold — the Cold War
  7. object — a thing
  8. roll — a cake
  9. swing — in golf
  10. chest — a box
  11. chest — of your body
  12. object — an aim
  13. stick — a piece of wood
  14. field — a subject
  15. stick — to attach or keep to
  16. vault — a safe
  17. object — to protest
  18. field — farmland
  19. roll — a list
  20. vault — in gymnastics
  21. roll — on a roll
  22. cold — an illness
  23. cold — not warm
  24. chest — of your body

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