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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: ground · swing · march · firm · straw · vault · drill · plane

  1. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  2. David sat on the ________________.
  3. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  4. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  5. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  6. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  7. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  8. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  9. There's no middle ________________.
  10. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  11. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  12. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  13. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  14. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  15. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  16. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  17. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  18. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  19. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  20. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  21. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  22. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  23. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  24. The ________________ took off on time.

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

Answer key

  1. march — the month
  2. swing — to play on
  3. march — music
  4. vault — a safe
  5. firm — a company
  6. drill — a practice
  7. plane — a tool
  8. plane — in geometry
  9. ground — a position
  10. straw — to clutch at straws
  11. vault — in gymnastics
  12. march — the month
  13. ground — the earth
  14. straw — a straw man
  15. vault — an arched ceiling
  16. swing — music
  17. drill — army training
  18. swing — in golf
  19. firm — decided
  20. firm — steady
  21. drill — the tool
  22. straw — dry grass
  23. ground — crushed
  24. plane — an aircraft

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