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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: mouse · game · swing · field · shower · vault · wound · fine

  1. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  2. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  3. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  4. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  5. That was a fun ________________.
  6. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  7. David sat on the ________________.
  8. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  9. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  10. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  11. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  12. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  13. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  14. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  15. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  16. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  17. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  18. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  19. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  20. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  21. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  22. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  23. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  24. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.

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

Answer key

  1. fine — all right
  2. vault — a safe
  3. mouse — the animal
  4. field — for sport
  5. game — a match
  6. mouse — for a computer
  7. swing — to play on
  8. shower — a meteor shower
  9. vault — in gymnastics
  10. wound — past of 'wind'
  11. field — a subject
  12. mouse — the animal
  13. wound — an injury
  14. fine — a penalty
  15. game — a kind of play
  16. vault — an arched ceiling
  17. field — farmland
  18. wound — an injury
  19. swing — music
  20. shower — rain
  21. shower — to wash
  22. fine — high quality
  23. game — wild animals
  24. swing — in golf

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