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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: vault · march · chest · last · band · roll · stick · ball

  1. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  2. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  3. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  4. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  5. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  6. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  7. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  8. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  9. The King held a masked ________________.
  10. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  11. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  12. False peace will not ________________.
  13. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  14. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  15. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  16. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  17. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  18. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  19. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  20. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  21. We're on a ________________ here.
  22. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  23. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  24. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — of your body
  2. roll — a cake
  3. band — a ring
  4. chest — of your body
  5. last — finally
  6. roll — a list
  7. ball — a round shape
  8. chest — a box
  9. ball — a dance
  10. stick — a piece of wood
  11. stick — to attach or keep to
  12. last — to go on
  13. march — music
  14. march — the month
  15. vault — a safe
  16. march — the month
  17. ball — a great time
  18. vault — an arched ceiling
  19. last — final
  20. vault — in gymnastics
  21. roll — on a roll
  22. band — a rubber band
  23. stick — a piece of wood
  24. band — a music group

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