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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: calf · kick · wound · march · stem · vault · row · content

  1. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  2. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  3. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  4. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  5. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  6. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  7. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  8. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  9. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  10. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  11. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  12. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  13. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  14. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  15. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  16. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  17. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  18. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  19. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  20. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  21. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  22. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  23. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  24. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.

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

Answer key

  1. march — music
  2. march — the month
  3. vault — an arched ceiling
  4. content — videos and posts
  5. stem — to come from
  6. march — the month
  7. row — a quarrel
  8. content — happy
  9. kick — a thrill
  10. vault — a safe
  11. calf — a young animal
  12. stem — of a plant
  13. kick — in football
  14. wound — past of 'wind'
  15. row — a line
  16. content — the amount
  17. wound — an injury
  18. calf — of the leg
  19. stem — a stem cell
  20. kick — with a leg
  21. row — to paddle
  22. wound — an injury
  23. calf — a young animal
  24. vault — in gymnastics

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