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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: vault · trunk · face · field · land · track · stem · march

  1. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  2. When are we going to ________________?
  3. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  4. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  5. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  6. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  7. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  8. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  9. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  10. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  11. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  12. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  13. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  14. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  15. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  16. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  17. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  18. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  19. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  20. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  21. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  22. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  23. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  24. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.

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

Answer key

  1. march — the month
  2. land — to come down
  3. vault — in gymnastics
  4. trunk — of a car
  5. land — ground
  6. field — farmland
  7. march — the month
  8. land — a country
  9. track — to keep track
  10. face — to point toward
  11. face — to confront
  12. march — music
  13. trunk — of a tree
  14. vault — an arched ceiling
  15. trunk — of an elephant
  16. field — a subject
  17. stem — to come from
  18. stem — of a plant
  19. stem — a stem cell
  20. field — for sport
  21. face — part of the head
  22. track — a path
  23. vault — a safe
  24. track — a song

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