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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 in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  2. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  3. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  4. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  5. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  6. The ________________ took off on time.
  7. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  8. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  9. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  10. He was locked up in a ________________.
  11. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  12. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  13. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  14. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  15. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  16. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  17. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  18. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  19. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  20. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  21. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  22. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  23. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  24. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.

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

Answer key

  1. march — music
  2. foot — part of the body
  3. march — the month
  4. vault — a safe
  5. fall — to drop
  6. plane — an aircraft
  7. cell — a phone
  8. file — a tool
  9. fall — to drop
  10. cell — in a prison
  11. fall — the season
  12. plane — a tool
  13. shower — rain
  14. cell — in biology
  15. shower — to wash
  16. file — a line of people
  17. plane — in geometry
  18. foot — a measure
  19. shower — a meteor shower
  20. march — the month
  21. file — a document
  22. vault — an arched ceiling
  23. foot — the bottom
  24. vault — in gymnastics

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