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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 120 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: bark · fan · march · object · capital · bat · hand · vault

  1. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  2. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  3. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  4. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  5. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  6. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  7. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  8. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  9. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  10. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  11. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  12. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  13. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  14. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  15. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  16. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  17. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  18. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  19. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  20. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  21. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  22. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  23. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  24. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.

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

Answer key

  1. march — music
  2. fan — to cool the air
  3. bark — a dog's sound
  4. bark — to shout
  5. object — an aim
  6. object — to protest
  7. hand — in cards
  8. bark — of a tree
  9. fan — a supporter
  10. fan — a supporter
  11. bat — in an idiom
  12. capital — money
  13. vault — a safe
  14. capital — a city
  15. hand — part of the body
  16. hand — help
  17. capital — a big letter
  18. bat — the animal
  19. march — the month
  20. march — the month
  21. vault — in gymnastics
  22. vault — an arched ceiling
  23. bat — for baseball
  24. object — a thing

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