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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: arm · season · pop · vault · scale · swing · rash · spring

  1. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  2. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  3. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  4. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  5. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  6. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  7. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  8. Don't do anything ________________.
  9. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  10. You don't need to ________________ round.
  11. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  12. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  13. My father caught me by the ________________.
  14. Did you ________________ the meat?
  15. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  16. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  17. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  18. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  19. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  20. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  21. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  22. We're almost out of ________________.
  23. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  24. David sat on the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — of water
  2. vault — in gymnastics
  3. spring — a coil
  4. swing — in golf
  5. vault — a safe
  6. season — in sport
  7. scale — size or range
  8. rash — hasty
  9. scale — for weighing
  10. pop — to visit
  11. rash — a series
  12. pop — music
  13. arm — part of the body
  14. season — to add flavour
  15. scale — in music
  16. vault — an arched ceiling
  17. spring — the season
  18. season — of the year
  19. arm — a part of something
  20. arm — part of the body
  21. swing — music
  22. pop — soda
  23. rash — on the skin
  24. swing — to play on

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