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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 · craft · cold · arm · fan · march · rock · track

  1. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  2. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  3. My father caught me by the ________________.
  4. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  5. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  6. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  7. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  8. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  9. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  10. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  11. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  12. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  13. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  14. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  15. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  16. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  17. The water is too ________________.
  18. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  19. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  20. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  21. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  22. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  23. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  24. I don't want to ________________ the boat.

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

Answer key

  1. rock — music
  2. track — a path
  3. arm — part of the body
  4. fan — a supporter
  5. rock — a stone
  6. vault — in gymnastics
  7. cold — an illness
  8. arm — part of the body
  9. vault — a safe
  10. track — a song
  11. march — music
  12. track — to keep track
  13. march — the month
  14. cold — the Cold War
  15. vault — an arched ceiling
  16. craft — a skill
  17. cold — not warm
  18. march — the month
  19. fan — to cool the air
  20. craft — boats
  21. arm — a part of something
  22. craft — a handicraft
  23. fan — a supporter
  24. rock — to move gently

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