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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.

Words on the sheet
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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: present · file · vault · march · stock · field

  1. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  2. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  3. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  4. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  5. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  6. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  7. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  8. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  9. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  10. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  11. The ________________ market has crashed.
  12. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  13. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  14. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  15. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  16. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  17. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  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. file — a tool
  2. field — farmland
  3. present — there
  4. march — music
  5. present — a gift
  6. vault — in gymnastics
  7. march — the month
  8. stock — goods
  9. field — a subject
  10. file — a line of people
  11. stock — shares
  12. field — for sport
  13. present — the time now
  14. vault — a safe
  15. march — the month
  16. stock — a soup base
  17. file — a document
  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