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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: march · coach · land · chair · row · straw · vault · drill

  1. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  2. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  3. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  4. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  5. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  6. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  7. Have you met the new head ________________?
  8. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  9. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  10. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  11. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  12. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  13. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  14. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  15. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  16. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  17. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  18. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  19. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  20. When are we going to ________________?
  21. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  22. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  23. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  24. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.

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

Answer key

  1. drill — army training
  2. row — a quarrel
  3. march — the month
  4. drill — the tool
  5. vault — in gymnastics
  6. land — ground
  7. coach — a trainer
  8. march — the month
  9. coach — a trainer
  10. vault — a safe
  11. straw — dry grass
  12. coach — pulled by horses
  13. row — a line
  14. row — to paddle
  15. straw — a straw man
  16. march — music
  17. straw — to clutch at straws
  18. drill — a practice
  19. chair — to sit on
  20. land — to come down
  21. chair — a professorship
  22. vault — an arched ceiling
  23. land — a country
  24. chair — a leader

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