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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: drill · row · march · vault · fall · fork · foot · game

  1. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  2. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  3. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  4. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  5. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  6. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  7. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  8. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  9. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  10. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  11. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  12. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  13. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  14. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  15. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  16. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  17. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  18. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  19. That was a fun ________________.
  20. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  21. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  22. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  23. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  24. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.

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

Answer key

  1. vault — a safe
  2. fall — the season
  3. drill — a practice
  4. foot — the bottom
  5. foot — a measure
  6. march — music
  7. foot — part of the body
  8. drill — the tool
  9. game — wild animals
  10. vault — an arched ceiling
  11. fork — a garden tool
  12. vault — in gymnastics
  13. row — a quarrel
  14. game — a kind of play
  15. drill — army training
  16. fall — to drop
  17. row — a line
  18. row — to paddle
  19. game — a match
  20. fall — to drop
  21. fork — in a road
  22. march — the month
  23. march — the month
  24. fork — to eat with

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