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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 120 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. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  2. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  3. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  4. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  5. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  6. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  7. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  8. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  9. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  10. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  11. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  12. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  13. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  14. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  15. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  16. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  17. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  18. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  19. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  20. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  21. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  22. The ________________ went through the wall.
  23. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  24. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — an explosive
  2. march — the month
  3. vault — a safe
  4. nail — on a finger
  5. drill — army training
  6. board — to get on
  7. mine — belonging to me
  8. drill — a practice
  9. rest — what's left
  10. rest — a break
  11. march — the month
  12. chest — of your body
  13. nail — for a hammer
  14. drill — the tool
  15. march — music
  16. vault — in gymnastics
  17. board — a committee
  18. vault — an arched ceiling
  19. chest — a box
  20. mine — for digging
  21. board — a flat piece
  22. nail — for a hammer
  23. chest — of your body
  24. rest — what's left

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