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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: vault · mate · rule · chest · nail · march

  1. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  2. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  3. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  4. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  5. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  6. Have you found your soul ________________?
  7. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  8. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  9. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  10. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  11. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  12. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  13. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  14. The ________________ went through the wall.
  15. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  16. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  17. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  18. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — a friend
  2. nail — on a finger
  3. chest — of your body
  4. rule — government
  5. mate — to breed
  6. mate — a partner
  7. vault — in gymnastics
  8. march — music
  9. nail — for a hammer
  10. chest — of your body
  11. march — the month
  12. chest — a box
  13. rule — a law
  14. nail — for a hammer
  15. vault — a safe
  16. rule — to rule out
  17. march — the month
  18. vault — an arched ceiling

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