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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: march · dip · rush · field · vault · mate · fork · present

  1. Have you found your soul ________________?
  2. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  3. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  4. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  5. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  6. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  7. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  8. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  9. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  10. That must've been a ________________.
  11. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  12. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  13. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  14. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  15. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  16. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  17. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  18. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  19. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  20. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  21. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  22. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  23. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  24. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — a partner
  2. present — there
  3. rush — hurry
  4. rush — to hurry
  5. fork — in a road
  6. present — a gift
  7. field — a subject
  8. march — the month
  9. march — music
  10. rush — a thrill
  11. mate — a friend
  12. march — the month
  13. fork — to eat with
  14. fork — a garden tool
  15. field — farmland
  16. dip — to dunk
  17. vault — an arched ceiling
  18. vault — a safe
  19. field — for sport
  20. mate — to breed
  21. vault — in gymnastics
  22. dip — to sink
  23. dip — a sauce
  24. present — the time now

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