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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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Word bank
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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: march · cell · safe · game · fork · vault

  1. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  2. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  3. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  4. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  5. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  6. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  7. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  8. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  9. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  10. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  11. That was a fun ________________.
  12. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  13. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  14. He was locked up in a ________________.
  15. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  16. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  17. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  18. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fork — a garden tool
  2. game — a kind of play
  3. safe — out of danger
  4. vault — an arched ceiling
  5. cell — a phone
  6. fork — to eat with
  7. march — music
  8. march — the month
  9. vault — a safe
  10. fork — in a road
  11. game — a match
  12. safe — a strongbox
  13. game — wild animals
  14. cell — in a prison
  15. vault — in gymnastics
  16. safe — out of danger
  17. cell — in biology
  18. march — the month

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