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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: bat · ball · face · present · swing · vault · wind · arm

  1. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  2. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  3. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  4. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  5. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  6. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  7. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  8. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  9. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  10. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  11. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  12. The King held a masked ________________.
  13. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  14. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  15. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  16. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  17. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  18. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  19. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  20. My father caught me by the ________________.
  21. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  22. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  23. David sat on the ________________.
  24. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. arm — a part of something
  2. face — to confront
  3. vault — an arched ceiling
  4. bat — in an idiom
  5. ball — a round shape
  6. arm — part of the body
  7. swing — music
  8. wind — moving air
  9. bat — the animal
  10. wind — moving air
  11. bat — for baseball
  12. ball — a dance
  13. present — a gift
  14. ball — a great time
  15. face — to point toward
  16. present — the time now
  17. wind — to turn a key
  18. vault — in gymnastics
  19. present — there
  20. arm — part of the body
  21. swing — in golf
  22. face — part of the head
  23. swing — to play on
  24. vault — a safe

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