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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: vault · season · perch · kid · mine · date · key · swing

  1. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  2. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  3. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  4. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  5. This piece is in a major ________________.
  6. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  7. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  8. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  9. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  10. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  11. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  12. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  13. Have you settled on a ________________?
  14. Did you ________________ the meat?
  15. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  16. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  17. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  18. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  19. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  20. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  21. David sat on the ________________.
  22. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  23. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  24. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?

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

Answer key

  1. swing — music
  2. date — on the calendar
  3. perch — for a bird
  4. kid — to tease
  5. key — in music
  6. season — of the year
  7. swing — in golf
  8. vault — an arched ceiling
  9. key — the most important part
  10. season — in sport
  11. mine — an explosive
  12. mine — for digging
  13. date — on the calendar
  14. season — to add flavour
  15. vault — in gymnastics
  16. vault — a safe
  17. mine — belonging to me
  18. perch — the fish
  19. perch — for a bird
  20. date — the fruit
  21. swing — to play on
  22. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  23. kid — child
  24. key — for a lock

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