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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: staff · vault · field · bass · jam · racket · content · kid

  1. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  2. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  3. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  4. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  5. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  6. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  7. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  8. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  9. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  10. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  11. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  12. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  13. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  14. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  15. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  16. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  17. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  18. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  19. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  20. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  21. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  22. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  23. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  24. Would you like some apricot ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. racket — a loud noise
  2. racket — for tennis
  3. bass — low music
  4. vault — a safe
  5. kid — child
  6. content — happy
  7. bass — the instrument
  8. content — videos and posts
  9. staff — employees
  10. jam — a tight spot
  11. kid — to tease
  12. racket — for tennis
  13. jam — in traffic
  14. field — a subject
  15. field — for sport
  16. content — the amount
  17. vault — an arched ceiling
  18. staff — a stick
  19. bass — the fish
  20. staff — employees
  21. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  22. field — farmland
  23. vault — in gymnastics
  24. jam — to spread on bread

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