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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: bass · swing · leaves · field · mate · hand · vault · chest

  1. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  2. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  3. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  4. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  5. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  6. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  7. David sat on the ________________.
  8. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  9. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  10. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  11. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  12. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  13. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  14. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  15. Have you found your soul ________________?
  16. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  17. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  18. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  19. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  20. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  21. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  22. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  23. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  24. I play ________________ in a jazz band.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — help
  2. bass — low music
  3. hand — in cards
  4. leaves — lets stay
  5. vault — an arched ceiling
  6. swing — in golf
  7. swing — to play on
  8. vault — in gymnastics
  9. field — a subject
  10. swing — music
  11. field — farmland
  12. vault — a safe
  13. field — for sport
  14. leaves — to go away
  15. mate — a partner
  16. leaves — of a tree
  17. mate — a friend
  18. chest — of your body
  19. mate — to breed
  20. chest — of your body
  21. hand — part of the body
  22. chest — a box
  23. bass — the fish
  24. bass — the instrument

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