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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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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: lie · chest · march · vault · drill · court · fork · field

  1. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  2. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  3. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  4. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  5. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  6. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  7. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  8. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  9. The ball is in your ________________.
  10. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  11. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  12. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  13. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  14. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  15. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  16. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  17. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  18. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  19. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  20. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  21. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  22. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  23. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  24. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. march — music
  2. chest — a box
  3. fork — in a road
  4. fork — a garden tool
  5. fork — to eat with
  6. chest — of your body
  7. court — of law
  8. march — the month
  9. court — for sport
  10. lie — an untruth
  11. field — a subject
  12. lie — an untruth
  13. vault — a safe
  14. vault — in gymnastics
  15. lie — to recline
  16. drill — a practice
  17. drill — the tool
  18. vault — an arched ceiling
  19. drill — army training
  20. field — farmland
  21. court — of a king
  22. chest — of your body
  23. field — for sport
  24. march — the month

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