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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: tear · stem · vault · march · bat · bank

  1. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  2. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  3. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  4. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  5. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  6. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  7. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  8. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  9. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  10. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  11. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  12. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  13. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  14. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  15. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  16. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  17. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  18. Many English words ________________ from Latin.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. march — music
  3. bat — the animal
  4. vault — a safe
  5. vault — an arched ceiling
  6. bat — in an idiom
  7. stem — of a plant
  8. bank — for money
  9. vault — in gymnastics
  10. tear — to rip
  11. stem — a stem cell
  12. bat — for baseball
  13. tear — from crying
  14. march — the month
  15. bank — of a river
  16. bank — for money
  17. march — the month
  18. stem — to come from

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