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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 · pop · net · stick · swing · march · wound · bat

  1. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  2. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  3. David sat on the ________________.
  4. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  5. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  6. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  7. You don't need to ________________ round.
  8. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  9. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  10. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  11. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  12. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  13. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  14. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  15. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  16. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  17. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  18. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  19. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  20. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  21. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  22. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  23. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  24. We're almost out of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — an injury
  2. pop — music
  3. swing — to play on
  4. bat — the animal
  5. bat — for baseball
  6. march — the month
  7. pop — to visit
  8. wound — past of 'wind'
  9. march — the month
  10. vault — an arched ceiling
  11. vault — in gymnastics
  12. stick — a piece of wood
  13. net — for catching
  14. swing — in golf
  15. march — music
  16. net — after costs
  17. swing — music
  18. vault — a safe
  19. net — in sport
  20. stick — a piece of wood
  21. stick — to attach or keep to
  22. bat — in an idiom
  23. wound — an injury
  24. pop — soda

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