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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 116 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 · board · file · march · hand · mine · mate · fall

  1. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  2. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  3. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  4. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  5. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  6. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  7. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  8. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  9. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  10. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  11. Have you found your soul ________________?
  12. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  13. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  14. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  15. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  16. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  17. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  18. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  19. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  20. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  21. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  22. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  23. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  24. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — a friend
  2. march — the month
  3. board — a flat piece
  4. hand — in cards
  5. file — a tool
  6. mine — for digging
  7. fall — the season
  8. mate — to breed
  9. fall — to drop
  10. file — a document
  11. mate — a partner
  12. fall — to drop
  13. mine — belonging to me
  14. vault — an arched ceiling
  15. march — the month
  16. mine — an explosive
  17. vault — in gymnastics
  18. board — a committee
  19. file — a line of people
  20. vault — a safe
  21. march — music
  22. board — to get on
  23. hand — help
  24. hand — part of the body

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