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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: file · rest · tear · vault · spring · march

  1. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  2. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  3. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  4. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  5. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  6. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  7. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  8. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  9. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  10. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  11. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  12. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  13. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  14. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  15. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  16. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  17. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  18. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — the season
  2. vault — an arched ceiling
  3. tear — from crying
  4. march — the month
  5. rest — what's left
  6. file — a document
  7. file — a line of people
  8. file — a tool
  9. spring — of water
  10. rest — what's left
  11. vault — a safe
  12. tear — from crying
  13. tear — to rip
  14. rest — a break
  15. spring — a coil
  16. vault — in gymnastics
  17. march — the month
  18. march — music

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