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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 · drill · ball · march · wake · stem · trunk · row

  1. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  2. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  3. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  4. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  5. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  6. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  7. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  8. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  9. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  10. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  11. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  12. The King held a masked ________________.
  13. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  14. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  15. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  16. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  17. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  18. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  19. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  20. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  21. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  22. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  23. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  24. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.

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

Answer key

  1. trunk — of a tree
  2. vault — a safe
  3. drill — a practice
  4. march — the month
  5. drill — army training
  6. wake — a trail
  7. trunk — of a car
  8. wake — before a funeral
  9. vault — an arched ceiling
  10. ball — a great time
  11. march — music
  12. ball — a dance
  13. ball — a round shape
  14. row — a quarrel
  15. stem — a stem cell
  16. wake — to stop sleeping
  17. row — a line
  18. march — the month
  19. row — to paddle
  20. trunk — of an elephant
  21. stem — to come from
  22. vault — in gymnastics
  23. stem — of a plant
  24. drill — the tool

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