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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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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: game · spring · bat · branch · vault · swing · wind · chest

  1. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  2. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  3. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  4. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  5. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  6. David sat on the ________________.
  7. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  8. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  9. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  10. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  11. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  12. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  13. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  14. That was a fun ________________.
  15. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  16. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  17. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  18. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  19. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  20. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  21. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  22. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  23. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  24. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. swing — music
  2. game — a kind of play
  3. bat — in an idiom
  4. chest — a box
  5. spring — a coil
  6. swing — to play on
  7. swing — in golf
  8. wind — to turn a key
  9. game — wild animals
  10. branch — of a bank
  11. branch — of a tree
  12. vault — an arched ceiling
  13. bat — for baseball
  14. game — a match
  15. vault — a safe
  16. chest — of your body
  17. spring — the season
  18. bat — the animal
  19. branch — a division
  20. spring — of water
  21. wind — moving air
  22. wind — moving air
  23. vault — in gymnastics
  24. chest — of your body

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