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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 116 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: net · bat · rest · swing · file · cap · racket · vault

  1. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  2. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  3. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  4. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  5. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  6. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  7. David sat on the ________________.
  8. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  9. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  10. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  11. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  12. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  13. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  14. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  15. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  16. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  17. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  18. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  19. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  20. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  21. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  22. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  23. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  24. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.

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

Answer key

  1. rest — what's left
  2. racket — for tennis
  3. cap — a hat
  4. vault — in gymnastics
  5. net — after costs
  6. vault — a safe
  7. swing — to play on
  8. vault — an arched ceiling
  9. racket — for tennis
  10. swing — in golf
  11. file — a tool
  12. bat — the animal
  13. net — in sport
  14. bat — in an idiom
  15. cap — of ice
  16. swing — music
  17. rest — a break
  18. racket — a loud noise
  19. cap — a lid
  20. bat — for baseball
  21. file — a document
  22. file — a line of people
  23. net — for catching
  24. rest — what's left

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