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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 120 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.

Make a worksheet

Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

Words on the sheet
468
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 · bass · scale · bear · land · rash · march · fork

  1. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  2. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  3. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  4. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  5. When are we going to ________________?
  6. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  7. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  8. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  9. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  10. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  11. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  12. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  13. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  14. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  15. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  16. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  17. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  18. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  19. Don't do anything ________________.
  20. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  21. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  22. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  23. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  24. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.

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

Answer key

  1. march — the month
  2. bear — the animal
  3. bass — the instrument
  4. rash — a series
  5. land — to come down
  6. bass — low music
  7. rash — on the skin
  8. vault — in gymnastics
  9. land — a country
  10. march — the month
  11. fork — to eat with
  12. fork — in a road
  13. scale — for weighing
  14. bear — to put up with
  15. land — ground
  16. bass — the fish
  17. bear — the animal
  18. vault — an arched ceiling
  19. rash — hasty
  20. fork — a garden tool
  21. scale — size or range
  22. vault — a safe
  23. scale — in music
  24. march — music

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