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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 · rock · bat · date · object · march · present · land

  1. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  2. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  3. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  4. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  5. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  6. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  7. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  8. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  9. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  10. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  11. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  12. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  13. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  14. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  15. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  16. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  17. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  18. Have you settled on a ________________?
  19. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  20. When are we going to ________________?
  21. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  22. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  23. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  24. We were using a ________________ as a seat.

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

Answer key

  1. march — music
  2. date — the fruit
  3. bat — the animal
  4. object — to protest
  5. object — an aim
  6. present — a gift
  7. vault — a safe
  8. object — a thing
  9. present — there
  10. land — ground
  11. bat — in an idiom
  12. date — on the calendar
  13. rock — to move gently
  14. vault — in gymnastics
  15. rock — music
  16. land — a country
  17. march — the month
  18. date — on the calendar
  19. present — the time now
  20. land — to come down
  21. vault — an arched ceiling
  22. bat — for baseball
  23. march — the month
  24. rock — a stone

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