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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 120 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: swing · present · vault · bear · pitcher · cell · rash · court

  1. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  2. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  3. The ball is in your ________________.
  4. He was locked up in a ________________.
  5. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  6. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  7. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  8. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  9. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  10. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  11. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  12. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  13. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  14. He is an ace ________________.
  15. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  16. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  17. David sat on the ________________.
  18. Don't do anything ________________.
  19. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  20. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  21. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  22. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  23. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  24. A black ________________ roamed the forest.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — a jug
  2. bear — the animal
  3. court — for sport
  4. cell — in a prison
  5. present — there
  6. swing — in golf
  7. pitcher — a jug
  8. present — a gift
  9. court — of a king
  10. rash — a series
  11. court — of law
  12. bear — to put up with
  13. vault — an arched ceiling
  14. pitcher — in baseball
  15. cell — a phone
  16. rash — on the skin
  17. swing — to play on
  18. rash — hasty
  19. swing — music
  20. cell — in biology
  21. vault — a safe
  22. present — the time now
  23. vault — in gymnastics
  24. bear — the animal

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