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

Word bank: trunk · fork · press · march · vault · dip

  1. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  2. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  3. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  4. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  5. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  6. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  7. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  8. Did you ________________ the button?
  9. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  10. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  11. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  12. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  13. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  14. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  15. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  16. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  17. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  18. 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. trunk — of an elephant
  2. march — the month
  3. dip — to dunk
  4. vault — an arched ceiling
  5. press — a publisher
  6. dip — to sink
  7. fork — to eat with
  8. press — to push
  9. vault — a safe
  10. dip — a sauce
  11. march — music
  12. press — newspapers
  13. fork — in a road
  14. trunk — of a tree
  15. fork — a garden tool
  16. march — the month
  17. trunk — of a car
  18. 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