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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: season · cold · vault · swing · cell · march · foot · scale

  1. The water is too ________________.
  2. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  3. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  4. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  5. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  6. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  7. He was locked up in a ________________.
  8. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  9. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  10. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  11. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  12. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  13. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  14. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  15. Did you ________________ the meat?
  16. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  17. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  18. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  19. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  20. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  21. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  22. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  23. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  24. David sat on the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — not warm
  2. cold — the Cold War
  3. swing — in golf
  4. vault — in gymnastics
  5. march — music
  6. foot — part of the body
  7. cell — in a prison
  8. vault — a safe
  9. vault — an arched ceiling
  10. cell — a phone
  11. march — the month
  12. scale — in music
  13. foot — the bottom
  14. cold — an illness
  15. season — to add flavour
  16. scale — for weighing
  17. foot — a measure
  18. season — of the year
  19. march — the month
  20. scale — size or range
  21. swing — music
  22. cell — in biology
  23. season — in sport
  24. swing — to play on

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