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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: vault · season · squash · wax · field · net · bat · swing

  1. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  2. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  3. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  4. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  5. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  6. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  7. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  8. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  9. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  10. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  11. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  12. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  13. Did you ________________ the meat?
  14. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  15. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  16. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  17. David sat on the ________________.
  18. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  19. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  20. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  21. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  22. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  23. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  24. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — the animal
  2. net — for catching
  3. field — farmland
  4. vault — a safe
  5. vault — in gymnastics
  6. season — in sport
  7. swing — music
  8. squash — to crush
  9. swing — in golf
  10. net — in sport
  11. bat — in an idiom
  12. wax — in the ear
  13. season — to add flavour
  14. season — of the year
  15. bat — for baseball
  16. field — for sport
  17. swing — to play on
  18. squash — the sport
  19. wax — for sculpting
  20. squash — the vegetable
  21. wax — to grow
  22. net — after costs
  23. field — a subject
  24. vault — an arched ceiling

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