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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: drill · content · wound · vault · wake · bat · march · last

  1. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  2. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  3. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  4. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  5. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  6. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  7. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  8. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  9. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  10. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  11. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  12. False peace will not ________________.
  13. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  14. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  15. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  16. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  17. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  18. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  19. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  20. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  21. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  22. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  23. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  24. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!

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

Answer key

  1. march — the month
  2. wound — an injury
  3. wake — before a funeral
  4. content — the amount
  5. drill — the tool
  6. vault — a safe
  7. march — music
  8. last — finally
  9. drill — a practice
  10. drill — army training
  11. wound — past of 'wind'
  12. last — to go on
  13. bat — for baseball
  14. wake — a trail
  15. bat — the animal
  16. content — happy
  17. bat — in an idiom
  18. vault — in gymnastics
  19. wake — to stop sleeping
  20. wound — an injury
  21. vault — an arched ceiling
  22. content — videos and posts
  23. march — the month
  24. last — final

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